Telangana state economic slowdown hits constituencies hard

Hyderabad: Economic slowdown casts a big shadow over the Constituency Development Programmes being taken up by MLAs and MLCs under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) scheme in Telangana.

While the officials maintained that the State Government is unlikely to release the funds in view of fiscal crisis this financial year, the legislators from all parties are waiting anxiously for the release of funds.

Top officials of the state government said that the funds were released in the first quarter (April to June) of this financial year 2019-20 to clear the pending bills in the previous financial year.

From then onwards, no funds were earmarked for the CDF. There was no communication to the state Planning Department which oversees the CDF, about the specific budget allocation or Budget Release Orders (BRO) for the constituency development programmes from the Finance department.

Under the CDF, each legislator is entitled to get Rs 3 crore as development fund. The MLAs would have to spend the allocations in their respective assembly segments and the MLCs are given freedom to take up developmental works in any part of the state.

Officials said that the Planning department has received proposals from legislators for developmental works like road laying works in the villages, construction of the community halls and school buildings and other developmental activity in the constituencies. All the proposals were pending.

Unless the Finance department gives its nod, district Collectors will not release the funds. Every year, the state government earmarked nearly Rs 5 crore for CDF.

Generally, the CDF money is released from November onwards depending on the priority of the works, official said that there is no guarantee of release of funds as the third quarter of the financial year also came to end this month.

The ruling TRS MLAs are already running from pillar to the post for the release of funds by January end.

Some of the MLAs and MLCs have approached Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao and others pleaded with the state ministers to ensure the ongoing works will not come to a halt before its completion due to lack of funds.

In some Assembly constituencies mainly in old Warangal, Karimangar and Nalgonda and Medak districts, the ruling party MLAs allotted local works to their followers on nomination basis expecting the release of funds by this year end.

In some segments, the legislators sanctioned works to the local contractors who already completed the works and waiting for clearance of the bills. Officials said that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao will have to take a final call on the release of CDF.

It may be mentioned here that the CM already instructed the minsters, legislators and authorities to maintain fiscal discipline as the state is not able to bear the excess financial burden this year.Patan