State budget likely to be poll-oriented

By Express News Service - HYDERABAD

17th March 2013 07:54 AM

      New schemes and more sops to weaker sections are expected to figure in the budget which will be presented in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. As this is being considered an election budget, finance minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, in consultation with chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, is giving finishing touches to it.
The finance minister will present the budget in the Assembly ar 10.26 am on Monday. Later,  agriculture minister Kanna Lakshminarayana will introduce a separate budget for agriculture. Endowments minister C Ramachandraiah will present the general budget and civil supplies minister D Sridhar Babu the agriculture budget in the Legislative Council.
“The state’s financial situation is sound. This year the budget will truly reflect the assurances given by the Congress in 2009,” the finance minister said on Saturday.
When the minister hinted that this year’s budget would be in tune with the 2009 election manifesto, there is a possibility of implementing Congress’ two major assurances before going for Assembly elections in 2014, sources said.
In its election manifesto, the Congress promised supply of 6-kg rice to each member of the below poverty line (BPL) families and a nine-hour uninterrupted power supply to the agricultural sector. At present, the government is supplying 4 kg of rice to each member of the BPL families through the public distribution system.
Apart from a separate budget for agriculture for the first time, funds will be allotted and spent exclusively for the development of SCs and STs under sub-plans. The newly-enacted Andhra Pradesh Scheduled Castes Sub-Plan and Tribal Sub-Plan (Planning, Allocation and Utilisation of Financial Resources) Act, 2012 will be implemented from this budget. Funds will be allocated as per the population of SCs and STs as per the 2001 census. The size of the budget will be around Rs 1.40 lakh crore and 22.8 per cent of it will be allocated for SCs and STs.
The state government is expecting a 5.29 per cent growth rate in the 2013-14 financial year.