Andhra cuts budget size

Andhra Pradesh finance minster K Rosaiah today presented the Budget for Rs 1,03,485 crore for the year 2009-10, a reduction of over Rs 2,000 crore compared with the interim Budget presented in February before elections.

Of this, non-Plan expenditure includes Rs 63,301.2 crore and Plan Rs 40,184.1 crore. The fiscal deficit for the year has been projected at Rs 16,162 crore, about 3.96 per cent of the gross state domestic product (GSDP).

The finance minister has projected a revenue surplus of Rs 2,406 crore as against Rs 1,255 crore in the interim Budget even as the fiscal deficit went up by over Rs 4,000 crore in five months from February to now.

Though the focus would be on Jalayagnam, the allocation for irrigation projects has been reduced from Rs 18,617 crore to Rs 17,800 crore. The state has covered 81 projects at an outlay of Rs 1.76 lakh crore and envisaged creation of an additional irrigation potential for 10.03 million acre besides stabilising 2.17 million acre, Rosaiah informed.

To increase farm output, which grew at an average of about 10 per cent in the past five years, cooperative farming in two villages in all districts would be implemented on an experimental basis.

The government has earmarked Rs 6,040 crore for power subsidy and Rs 3,500 crore for rice subsidy. Agriculture and allied sectors have been allocated Rs 2,612 crore. Besides, it has decided to give a one-time waiver of loans sanctioned to the cooperative societies and individual weavers to the tune of Rs 312 crore.

The other allocations include Rs 5,532 crore for SC, ST, BC, minorities and disabled welfare, Rs 351 crore for post-matric scholarships, Rs 8,413 crore for school education, Rs 2,737 crore for higher and technical education, Rs 925 crore for Arogyasri health insurance, Rs 2,896 crore for healthcare and Rs 217 crore for industrial promotion incentives.

The state government would expand Vijayawada and Rajahmundry airports apart from developing the non-operational airports at Kadapa and Warangal under a memorandum of understanding with the Airports Authority of India. The land required for the expansion of airports are being identified and works would be taken up during this year.

Noting that a 12 per cent growth in energy generation was essential to sustain the nine per cent growth in economy, the finance minister said it proposed to add 10,992 Mw in the next five years to the existing installed capacity of 12,427 Mw power. An additional 1,500 Mw capacity lying idle for several years for want of gas has become operational, he informed.

The government also proposed to take up the AP road sector project at a total cost of Rs 8,072 crore with the help of the World Bank, he said but did not specify the loan amount. A sum of Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for the project.

“Our efforts have been to use the state resources to leverage maximum funds from the Government of India, private partners and banks,” he said adding the state had provided matching share in various sectors and tried to ensure that no priority sector and programmes suffered due to shortage of funds.