Terming the Union Budget as disappointing, the YSRCP has said it has expected a booster dose, but it appears like ‘all style but no substance.”
Speaking to the media in New Delhi on Tuesday, MP V. Vijaya Sai Reddy said the allocation of ₹1 lakh crore for capital expenditure seemed huge, but when it came to the State’s share as per the set formula, Andhra Pradesh would get just 4.047 %, which worked out to ₹4,000 crore. “In the case of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, while the set norm is not more than 3% of the GSDP for the States, there is no parity with respect to the Centre on the borrowings. The State is still bearing the brunt of the actions of the previous government,” he said.
Fiscal deficit
Mr. Vijaya Sai Reddy said, while the fiscal deficit of Union Budget was 9.3% for 2020-21, 6.9% for 2021-22, and was estimated at 6.4% this year, Andhra Pradesh registered a deficit of 5.48% and 3.94% in the past two years, and yet there were strictures on FRBM.
Referring to the interlinking of rivers Krishna-Godavari, Krishna-Penna, and Penna-Cauveri, he said the State government had already interlinked the Godavari-Krishna rivers with its own funds, and appealed to the Centre to compensate the State.
The State government had been pushing a dedicated freight corridor from Kharagpur to Vijayawada, freight corridor connectivity to ports in Andhra Pradesh and Bhogapuram National Highway, but no announcements were made in this regard, he said.
Similarly, he said there was no mention of the development in the healthcare sector, the field of research was ignored and health insurance for the middle class people went missing too.
He, however, welcomed increase of tax deduction limit of State employees to 14% and reduction of duties on shrimp production and aquaculture. He also welcomed the Centre’s take on cryptocurrency, as RBI itself was coming up with a digital currency.
‘Nothing encouraging’
The MP said his party was opposed to privatisation of profit-making public sector units like the LIC, HPCL and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, and said there was nothing encouraging on the NREGS.
Mr. Reddy assured that the YCRCP MPs were pursuing the 10 issues instructed by the Chief Minister, and said they were already referred to the committee.
