The State budget for 2016-17 proposed in the Assembly disappointed North Andhra yet again, MLC M.V.S. Sarma has said.

Experts suggested that for completion of irrigation projects, Rs.15,000 crore was required and sought Rs.5,000 crore a year.

The budget estimates for 2015-16 was Rs.349 crore. However, it was reduced to Rs. 204 crore. For the current year, even the budget estimate was Rs.196 crore and it gave a fairly good indication of the government’s attitude towards North Andhra, the MLC said.

Even lift irrigation from Pushkara Canal to meet the water needs of the city and steel plant was not taken into consideration, Mr. Sarma pointed out.

Jhanjhavati and Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanthi did not find a mention and no assistance was announced to help reopen industrial units that closed down, he said.

The budget speech also had nothing to say about the project-displaced. Issues like loan waiver to self-help groups and allowance for the unemployed merited no attention.

Instead of focussing on development of various regions, the budget gave priority to incentives to the private sector, Mr. Sarma criticised.

‘Allocations less’

Though the budget at Rs.1.35 lakh crore was higher by Rs.20,000 crore, the crucial agriculture, irrigation, and rural development sectors received lower allocations, CPI(M) State secretariat member Ch. Narsinga Rao said.

He wondered what the government meant by completion of first phase of Polavaram LMC by June 2018.

Though 31 heavy and medium industries closed down, rendering workers jobless and affecting farmers, no proposal was made to provide relief to them, Forum for Development of North Andhra said.