Hyderabad, Feb 1 (IANS) The Centre has once again treated Telangana unfairly in the Union Budget, said Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka.
Reacting to Union Budget 2026-27 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Sunday, he said they expected allocations for various projects for Telangana, but the State received nothing in the Rs 53.47 lakh crore Budget.
He told the media that despite Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Cabinet Ministers, and Members of Parliament repeatedly meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Finance Minister and submitting representations for the State’s interests and development, the absence of allocations in the Budget has caused deep disappointment.
He said the state had expected Central funding in the Budget for projects such as the Musi River rejuvenation, the Regional Ring Road, Hyderabad city development, Metro Rail expansion, and other infrastructure.
Vikramarka said that when bio-pharma is discussed, the first name come to mind is Telangana, but the lack of allocations for the State is extremely disappointing.
He also mentioned that Hyderabad is globally recognised as a pharma hub. During the COVID period, Bharat Biotech supplied vaccines not only to the country but also to the world, but Telangana did not figure in the pharma hub initiatives.
The Central budget allocated Rs 40,000 crore for electronics, but not even a single rupee has been given to Telangana, he said and pointed out that Hyderabad has a well-developed electronics ecosystem.
The Telangana government has been focusing on sports. As part of the Global Summit and the Vision 2047 document, sports events were organised with world-renowned athletes. Despite special emphasis on sports, Telangana was ignored by the Centre, the Deputy CM said.
“In the Orange Economy, Hyderabad-centric activities were shifted to Mumbai. What wrong has Telangana done? Hyderabad is the biggest centre for audio-video, gaming, and comics. Ignoring Hyderabad in the Orange Economy and choosing Mumbai instead is unjustified,” he said.
He mentioned that Hyderabad is emerging as a medical hub with people from across the country and from other nations coming to avail medical facilities. He wanted to know why Telangana was not included in the Regional Medical Value Hub initiative.
“Excluding Telangana, even in the tourism sector, is unfair. Telangana has UNESCO-recognised heritage sites like the Ramappa Temple, Mannanur Tiger Reserve, Kawal Reserve Forest, waterfalls, temples along the Krishna and Godavari riverbanks, and rich forest areas.”
He stated that the Centre has not focused on Telangana even in rare earth minerals. Singareni Collieries is already running rare earth mineral processing to extract scandium and lithium in Sathupalli and Ramagundam.
Despite Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Industries Minister Sridhar Babu personally meeting the Prime Minister and requesting approval for a semiconductor unit for Telangana, the Budget granted such projects to other states while showing a step-motherly attitude towards Telangana.
This Budget has not focused on the welfare of SCs, STs, and minorities. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is being undermined, which will severely harm the rural poor, Vikramarka said.
He appealed to all Telangana Members of Parliament to rise above political differences during this Budget session and submit representations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seeking fund allocations.
The Deputy CM said the State had requested the Centre to allow a fiscal deficit of 4 per cent, but the Centre itself has set a fiscal deficit of 4.3 per cent, while denying permission to Telangana. “Is Telangana not an integral part of the country?” he asked.
–IANS
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