Focus on PRC, farmers loan-waiver

Hyderabad: The long-pending implementation of first PRC (Pay Revision Commission) for nearly 3 lakh Telangana State Government employees and loan-waiver scheme to relieve over 30 lakh farmers from the debt burden is likely to take centre-stage with specific allocations in the budget outlay for 2019-20 to be presented in the State Assembly by the government soon.

The state government has decided to earmark substantial funds to flagship welfare programmes mainly the enhanced Aasara pension scheme benefitting more than 40 lakh people and Rythu Bandhu scheme meant for 50 lakh farmers from this year financial year.

In the vote on account presented by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao in March this year, the government mentioned specific allocations for these two major schemes.

The two other major schemes left pending for the enforcement are the extending PRC benefits to all government employees and the launch of loan-waiver scheme afresh, said a top official.

In the TRS first term between 2014 and 2018, the State government provided succour to the debt-ridden farmers by waiving more than Rs 17,000 crore in four instalments.

State Finance Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao is holding series of meetings with the third PRC Commission Chairman CR Biswal and state Secretary to Agriculture department C Parthasarathi to finalise the requirement of funds for the implementation of the two programmes in the current financial year.

The state government is supposed to implement the PRC from June last year. Due to delay in submission of the report by the commission, the government deferred the enhancement of the salaries for the last one year.

In view of the tight financial situation, the government is planning to release the PRC benefits in a phased manner so that no other scheme is affected due to fund crunch.

As promised by KCR in 2018 Assembly elections, the government has proposed to implement the scheme in five installments and waive the loans taken by farmers up to Rs 1 lakh.

It is estimated that it required Rs 17,000 crore to Rs 18,000 crore to enforce the loan-waiver scheme.

During the previous term, the KCR government implemented the loan-waiver scheme in four instalments by waiving Rs 17,000 crore loans.

Top sources said that the Chief Minister instructed the Finance department to come up with different proposals for the implementation of PRC and loan-waiver scheme without any additional burden on the state with the available financial resources.