Capital, Polavaram Centre's burden: AP

HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu said the State government did not allocate any amount for building capital city and construction of Polavaram major irrigation project in the State Budget presented to the Assembly on Wednesday.

Construction of capital city and Polavaram would be the responsibility of the Central government, which showed a token amount in the Union Budget, Ramakrishnudu said.

'We are expecting that the Centre will allocate sufficient funds for both capital city and Polavaram soon,' he added.

The Finance Minister termed the Budget presented by him as development and welfare oriented one. 'Though it is the first budget of the successor AP state, it is a small budget as it is introduced in the middle of the year,' the Finance Minister added.

He said the assurances given by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his 3,000 km padayatra and the assurances mentioned in the TDP election manifesto were being implemented.

'We have to utilise the available revenues in an effective manner. We are not allocating 100 percent funds for all the schemes. The next budget will be a full-fledged one,' Yanamala said.

'We cannot cut the non-plan expenditure immediately. That is why around `85,000 crore went to non-plan expenditure in the `1.11 lakh crore Budget,' the Finance Minister explained. He said from the next Budget onwards, the non-plan expenditure would be cut and plan budget increased.

On farm loan waiver, the Finance Minister said the government was committed to waiving farm loans. The government was exploring three to four options on how to mobilise the required funds for farm loan waiver, he said.

Asked on why the State mostly depended on the Centre, the Finance Minister said it was not too much dependence. The Centre had to fulfil its commitments made in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.

'We are waiting how the Centre would announce the aid to the State. Whether it will be in cash or in some schemes. We are expecting that the compensation fo the revenue deficit of `16,000 will come in the form of cash from the Centre and the remaining in the form of several schemes,' Ramakrishnudu said. 'We will bring pressure on the Centre for more funds,' he added.

He further said the construction of LNG terminal at Kakinada was expected to fetch the State government an additional `7,000 crore in commercial tax. Once the Centre extended its assistance either in cash or in the form of schemes, the plan budget of the State would increase, he explained.

Asked about his budget speech which mentioned creation of irrigation potential in the last five years, which was contrary to the allegation of TDP that the Congress could not create not even a single acre of new ayacut, the Finance Minister said: 'The statistics mentioned in the Budget on irrigation are provided by officials. Our irrigation Minister will thoroughly probe the facts and come out with real figures later.'