Hyderabad: BRS MLC Dasoju Sravan intensified Telangana budget criticism in the Legislative Council on March 24, calling the state’s financial plan unrealistic.
He questioned repeated high projections and pointed to gaps between estimates and actual spending. He said the government projected ₹2.2 lakh crore for 2024–25 but spent only ₹1.67 lakh crore.
For 2025–26, he said the estimate stood at ₹2.29 lakh crore. However, spending reached only ₹2.03 lakh crore so far. Despite this trend, the government projected ₹2.41 lakh crore for the coming year.
Sravan said a sound budget should limit the gap between projections and spending to 5%–10%. Therefore, he termed the latest estimates unrealistic and disconnected from ground realities.
He also cited Comptroller and Auditor General findings. He said revenue collections remained weak against projections. Against a ₹2.29 lakh crore target, the state collected about ₹1.38 lakh crore by January 2026.
Telangana budget criticism flags revenue and debt concerns
Sravan said expecting ₹65,000 crore in the final two months was impractical. He added that such assumptions exposed flaws in financial planning.
On debt, he questioned figures presented by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy. He said the government claimed ₹3.30 lakh crore out of ₹3.47 lakh crore borrowings went towards repayments.
However, he said actual direct repayments stood near ₹1.67 lakh crore. He alleged that officials included borrowings by corporations and special purpose vehicles to inflate figures.
He said this created a misleading picture of fiscal management. Therefore, he called for clarity and transparency in debt reporting.
Sravan also raised concerns over reduced focus on education and health sectors. He disputed claims on ration card distribution and said 6.45 lakh cards were issued earlier.
He demanded 42% reservation for Backward Classes in contracts and maintenance works. He urged the government to act on welfare measures without delay.
He said Telangana budget criticism reflected broader concerns about fiscal discipline. He added that realistic projections remained essential for effective governance.
