HYDERABAD: There was not much by way of specific provisions for Andhra Pradesh in the budget presented by Pranab Mukherjee on Friday except the announcement of mega handloom clusters for Guntur and Prakasam districts and `100 crore to shore up research at the NG Ranga Agriculture University.The money allocated to the state’s premier farm university will be spent on improving research infrastructure, construction of new classrooms, hiring competent faculty, construction of new labs and providing latest equipment to aid quality research, according to an official of the state’s Agriculture Department.But the state stands to gain some benefits from some of the budget provision applicable to the entire nation. For instance, the interest subvention for farmers and women self-help groups announced in the budget is likely to save some money for the cash-strapped state government. Presently, the state government subsidises 7 per cent of the interest payable by self-help groups on loans not exceeding `1 lakh.But the Centre’s relief will be limited only to districts affected by left-wing extremism, which are eighth in number in AP. “It is not yet clear how much the interest subvention would work out in terms of money saved by the state government,” an official in the state Finance Department said.At present the state government’s burden from paying interest on loans availed by SHG members in 22 districts is `1,400 crore.from: P1 The state government is also looking forward to larger accruals under the Centre’s Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP). Under this, the Centre contributes 10 per cent of the expenditure on some irrigation projects, and the state 90 per cent, which worked out to Rs 3,500 crore last year. This year the state has set apart Rs 5,000 for AIBP-funded irrigation projects. “This year too we expect the Centre to bear 10 per cent of the project cost,” said finance minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy.As there is a mention in the budget that the Centre would provide viability gap funding of irrigation projects, officials here hope there will be action on Jalayagnam projects that are in need of funds. Contractors have stopped work on these projects because the state government’s allocations fall short of likely actual costs. Unless this gap is bridged by the state government, the contractors have said they would not be able to take up work. About half of the 43 priority projects are incomplete for this reason and the gap is anywhere between `10 crore and `100 crore. Though the budget also announced a national investment and manufacturing zone in AP, the contours of the project are not yet known..
Comments
0 comment