Hyderabad, July 31: The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) today alleged that the budget presented by Finance Minister K Rosaiah was intended to do `injustice’ to the region by sale of its lands and diversion of resources and river waters to Kadapa and Anantapur.
In all, the State Budget would not be beneficial to the Telangana region, the TRS remarked.
Participating in the budget discussion in the State Assembly here, TRS Legislator T Harish Rao charged the State Government with getting Central funds by showing backward areas of Telangana region, but spending the same in other regions of the State. `Discrimination’ towards Telangana region has been continuing since last 50 years, he said disputing the Government’s claim of according priority to the region in respect of irrigation projects, education, employment and other sectors.
“Except heaping praises on the State Government, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and raising debts of about Rs.16,000 crore there is nothing new in the budget’’, he quipped.
Referring to the irrigation sector, the TRS member ridiculed the Government for allocating only Rs. 600 crore in the budget for the muchpublicised Pranahitha-Chevella lift irrigation as against the project cost of about Rs.42,000 crore. It was not possible for the Government to divert Godavari river waters to Hyderabad as the site for the proposed barrage was yet to be finalised. Besides, it has allocated only Rs.250 crore for diversion of Godavari waters to the City as against the total cost of Rs.3,375 crore. He urged the Government to take up phase-III of Krishna river water diversion project costing about Rs.700 crore instead of supplying Godavari waters to the City. It was not fair on the part of the Government to divert Krishna river waters to the Rayalaseema region through Pothireddypadu project, he remarked.
The TRS leader found fault with the Government for its `decision’ to generate revenue through sale of liquor and criticised the Government for its `failure’ to have market intervention fund (in the budget) to check price rise of essential commodities
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Intervening, Health Minister D Nagender remarked that the TRS members have lost their right to talk about `Telangana’ as people of the region have rejected them in the recent elections.
“Telangana is not their jagir’’, he quipped.
–Agencies–