Hyderabad: The Telangana government is preparing a ‘wish list’ seeking more funds and sanction of new projects to the state in the Union Budget 2026-2027. The wish list will be submitted to the Centre in the pre-budget meeting in January. The compensation for the loss of the revenue under rate rationalization of Goods & Services Tax (GST), funds for projects such as metro rail expansion, Bayyaram steel plant and dry port, and pending issues in the AP Reorganization Act, 2014, are likely to be in the wish list.

Officials said that the state Finance Department was reviewing the central grants and clearance of the pending dues mainly backward district development funds, GST arrears and others in the current financial year. “The Centre is not releasing grants to the state in time. It is also not considering the state’s request to release funds to the irrigation projects under the Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme (AIBP)”, officials said.

However officials said that Chief Minister Anumula Revanth Reddy already brought to the attention of the Union government about the pending funds and the approval of the projects.

Officials further said that all the financial related issues will be highlighted and more grants as well as funds will be sought under various centrally sponsored schemes during the pre-budget meeting with the Union Finance Ministry. The new rural employment guarantee scheme and its impact on the state exchequer due to increased state share to 40 per cent will also be discussed and relief to the state will be sought for handling financial challenges in the implementation of the revised scheme.

The demand to sanction the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Navodaya and Kendriya Vidyalayas, for funds for Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme and the establishment of Bayyaram steel plant as per the State Reorganization Act would also be included in the wish list, official sources said.

Sources said that Chief Secretary K Ramarkishna Rao and Secretaries of some key departments will attend a series of pre-budget meetings in January in New Delhi and apprise the Centre of the fiscal challenges that the state is facing in implementing the schemes and executing the big infrastructure development projects without the Centre’s assistance.