The Assembly on Monday passed the Appropriation (No32) Bill-2019 allowing the State to withdraw ₹2.32 lakh crore funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet its expenditure during 2019-20. The Bill, moved by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, was passed by voice vote after the House approved demands for grants for several Ministries which were put to vote and passed.
During the discussion, the treasury benches and Opposition Telugu Desam traded charges on the development, welfare schemes, irrigation projects etc. In his reply, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said that the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and growth rate as projected by the previous government were faulty. Sectors such as fisheries have no ‘uniform method across the country’ to calculate their growth, he added.
When TDP members demanded allocations to the debt redemption scheme, the Minister sought to turn the tables on them, saying estimates for loan waiver were brought down to ₹24,000 crore from ₹ 87,000 crore. Of this, ₹ 16,512 crore was allocated and mere ₹ 15,274 crore was spent in five years.