Hyderabad, Feb.6 (NSS): The left party from the state, CPM today demanded the state government to spend all the allocated funds to various departments of the state in the upcoming financial year (2023-24).
In a statement, CPM state secretary Tammineni Veerabhadram reacted on the annual budget presented by state finance minister T. Harish Rao and demanded the state government to make additional allocations to two important sectors of the state- health sector and the education sector in order to bring all those living under Below Poverty Line (BPL) category. Stating that the total annual budget of the state government is Rs.2,90,296 crores , he said that the state government had set aside Rs.22407 crrores for loan waiver and Rs.28,480 crore for the payment of interests on the existing loans of the state government taking their total percentage to 18 percent in the total annual budget. He said that the allocation of Rs.12,000 crore announced by the state finance minister in his speech for the double bedroom scheme of the state government was not shown in the budget document and added that the finance minister clarified that they would take up the construction of the double bedroom houses by taking loans separately on behalf of the state owned housing corporation. Stating that the total debts of the state government was shown as Rs.3,57059 crores as on March 2024, he said that the actual debt burden of the state government stood at Rs.4.5 lakh crores after inclusion of the corporate loans availed by it.
Stating that the growth rate of the state was shown as 7.8 percent, he said that the average growth rate of the state in the last seven years stood at 12.6 percent. Stating that the per capita income of the people of the state is increasing in the state every year, he said that the total number of people living under BPL category is also is increasing on year on year basis and added that the official statistics were stating that 37 percent of the population of the state was living under the BPL category.
He criticised that only Rs.19,000 crores were allocated to the education sector of the state and reminded the state government that the left party ruled states like Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura achieved 90 percent of literacy rate within five years of their rule. Stating that the state government has made an allocation of Rs.11525 crores for the health sector of the state, Veerabhadram said that several people of the state still did not have access to the healthcare services.
