The maiden budget session of the Telangana Government will be held in the first week of October against its earlier plan to have it in September.
The State Chief Minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao, who held a detailed review meeting on the budget earlier this week, has decided to constitute 14 task force teams to facilitate the elaborate budget-making process. These task force committees have been set up sector-wise, including a key team on resource mobilisation.
The focus of the KCR Government would be to chart out an agenda for the next five years highlighting the priorities of the new state rather than merely preparing the interim Budget for 2014-15.
The state Chief Minister has directed the Finance Ministry and other departments to view the exercise from a short-term, medium-term and long-term perspective rather than a merely one-year budget to reflect the state priorities.
With the new Government seeking to bring in fresh ideas and approach to governance, drawing up its own priorities for development and welfare measures, it is to be seen how it will be different from the past, when Telangana was part of the Unified Andhra Pradesh.
The Government is keen to give special focus for the state-owned mining enterprise Singareni Collieries Company Ltd, which is currently jointly owned by the State and the Central Government.
He said that the company must look at opportunities beyond the state and possibility even in other countries so that the thermal power plants in Telangana could be developed and this could help in all-round development of the state.
The Telangana Chief Minister said that the budget is not merely a financial statement but an expression of Government’s long-term perspective. Therefore, he suggested that even before drawing up the outlay department-wise, they will have to first draw up a perspective plan.
With the state announcing its decision to ensure that the agriculture sector is provided with a loan waiver of about Rs 20,000 crore, it would also lay adequate thrust on making necessary allocations for the purpose apart from providing subsidies for the power sector. Telangana is also expected to lay special focus on development of irrigation and power sectors.
Mentioning about how Telangana could become a seed manufacturing hub in the country, he said similar areas need to be identified.