Multiple FACs: Budget meetings turn big task for some IAS officers

Hyderabad: Telangana Secretaries holding more than one department as FAC (Full Additional Charge) are facing a tough task in the 2026-2027 budget preparation.

Senior IAS officials and Special Chief Secretaries like Jayesh Ranjan (MA & UD, Youth affair and Tourism ) Raghunandan Rao (Commercial Taxes and Excise and Prohibition), Sandeep Kumar Sultania (Finance and Planning), E Sridhar (Panchayat Raj and BC welfare), Sabyasachi Ghose (SC, Tribal Welfare and implementation of all welfare schemes) are facing big challenge to prepare a report for 2025-2026 Budget implementation and new Budget proposals.

Attending continuous budget preparation meetings is a big task for these senior IAS officers as they were appointed in charge of multiple departments. On the other hand, the government set February last week as the deadline to complete budget preparation. Due to the busy schedule of IAS officers, important files and public grievances are not being addressed timely.

State government has started pre-budget meetings on Monday soon after the municipal elections are completed. State Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka has been holding meetings regularly with at least three to four departments and the ministers are also organising review meetings of their respective departments.

“Attending the two meetings held by the Finance Minister and the minister concerned is already a big exercise for the preparation of the budget proposals. Holding FAC of other departments is another big challenge for the senior bureaucrats to submit the budget proposals, attending the meetings and giving replies to the Finance Department on the implementation of the schemes.

The officials are forced to spend a huge time for preparing reports of all the departments for which they were appointed as in charges,” a senior official told The Hans India.

As a result, the senior officials are not able to focus on the main issues which need to be addressed in the new budget proposals. It has become a routine process instead of a detailed discussion and seeking views of all officials in the pre-budget meetings, the official added.

The senior IAS officers also worried about the presentation of the incorrect information in some cases due to lack of sufficient time for the preparation of the reports.