Telangana raised serious concerns on Friday about the Union government reducing budgetary allocations to states by increasing the levy of cesses and surcharges, which would deny the states a share of them.
The state government also demanded that the Centre honor its commitment to the state and approve new projects, including the second phase of the Hyderabad Metro Rail, in the upcoming Union Budget for 2023-24.
Finance department officials led by Secretary Ronald Ross raised a number of concerns with the Centre during the pre-budget meeting on Friday in New Delhi. They also made several suggestions and asked the Union government to support Telangana, which was rapidly developing and contributing to the nation’s economy.
The State government proposed lowering petrol and diesel cesses and surcharges in a 14-page representation to correct the duty structure and moderate inflation. Since state VAT is levied on an ad valorem basis, this automatically reduces the state VAT. The Centre was also asked to increase capital expenditure in order to meet budget estimates for 2022-23.
Telangana requested a five-year extension of the scheme of Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure, with an increased allocation of Rs 2 lakh crore per year, because states are at the forefront of providing infrastructure and a conducive environment for attracting investment.
ALSO READ: Telangana: State govt’s free rice scheme benefiting poor
Hyderabad: State govt providing free water supply up to 20,000 litres for residents
State govt asks GHMC to analyze benefits of CRMP, SRDP programs
The Centre was asked to treat off-budget borrowings raised by State Public Sector Corporations and serviced from the State budget as State borrowings beginning in 2023-24, rather than 2021-22, as previously decided.
Since the states’ interests were at stake, the state government strongly advocated for limiting the share of cesses and surcharges to no more than 10% of gross tax revenue. The Union government’s share of gross tax revenue from cesses and surcharges increased from 2.3% in 1980-81 to 20% in 2022-23.
Telangana sought a reduction in the number of Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) and the ability for states to select a few schemes from the bouquet of CSS that meet their respective needs, in accordance with the recommendations of the Niti Aayog sub-group of Chief Ministers.
The state government demanded that the pending amount of Rs 1,350 crore for the development of backward areas under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act be released and extended for another five years.
According to the Act, it has also sought tax incentives to promote industrialization, granted Kaleshwaram project national project status, revived the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) project, and allocated necessary funds, as well as resolved pending issues in this regard.
Furthermore, the authorities wanted the Centre to designate funds in the Union Budget 2023-24 for the second phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail between BHEL and Lakdikapul to be taken up as a joint project of the Central and the State government at Rs 8,453 crore.
They also requested grant funds for the Mission Bhagiratha scheme, in accordance with the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. The State government requested that the Union government not place too many restrictions on taking up work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the text’s dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data. Raavi Media management/ythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
