Hyderabad: Following recent protests by contractors over the release of pending bills, Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka clarified that the government is currently unable to release funds for works awarded during the previous BRS government’s tenure.

Citing a paucity of funds, the minister said the government has decided to prioritise works taken up with the assurance of Central Government and NABARD funding only.

A Cabinet Sub-Committee on Infrastructure and capital works, headed by Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, reviewed the work progress and noted that the previous BRS government gave permissions for works arbitrarily and without proper budget allocations. The Deputy CM explained that traditionally, works are approved in a ratio of 1:3 based on revenue and budget allocations. However, he claimed that in the last ten years, the previous rulers approved development works in certain departments at a ratio of 1:25, initiated them, and left them incomplete. As a result, projects were stalled everywhere, and new ministers are unable to propose new works in their departments due to a shortage of funds.

The Deputy CM instructed the secretaries of various departments to rectify the situation. He ordered officials to first identify and prioritise works that are 95% complete. He stressed that representation should be ensured for all constituencies and advised officials to give priority to projects with Central government-sponsored schemes and NABARD assistance.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee also instructed that while spending funds, simultaneous efforts must be made to increase revenues. All officials were ordered to prepare plans accordingly. Senior officials were also advised to coordinate with their respective Ministers to prepare priority lists of development works before attending the Sub-Committee meetings.

The Cabinet Sub-Committee members Uttam Kumar Reddy, D Sridhar Babu, Komatireddy Venkat Reddy, and Seethakka attended the meeting.