Hyderabad: After the Central Government reduced budgetary allocations, Telangana has expressed concerns over the move.
The state government asked the Centre to sanction new projects, including the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, as promised.
The Telangana government held a pre-budget meeting with the Central Government officials in New Delhi on Friday and raised various issues relating to the state. The meeting was headed by Finance Department Secretary Ronald Ross.
In a 14-page representation, the state government suggested a reduction of cesses and surcharges of petrol and diesel to control the rising inflation. It asked the Central Government to raise the capital expenditure as the states provide infrastructure and attract new investment.
It sought an extension of the scheme of Special Assistance to the state for another five years with an annual enhancement of Rs 2 lakh crore.
The state government requested the Centre to restrict the share of cesses and surcharges not exceeding 10 percent of the gross tax revenue, as the states’ interests were at stake. In the Union Budget 2022-23, the Union Finance Ministry increased to 20 percent.
In the meeting, it was also discussed to revive the long pending Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project. They also discussed the fund allocation for the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail between BHEL and Lakdikapul, and the Mission Bhagiratha scheme.
