Allocate 10% of budget for edu, FGG urges govt

Hyderabad: The Forum for Good Governance, in consultation with the civic society in Hyderabad, has prepared a charter of people’s proposals for the forthcoming state budget and demanded increased allocation for education and health sectors.
FGG general secretary M Padmanabha Reddy said 10% of the state budget should be allocated to the education sector and added that one of the neglected sectors is health sector.“Today, no VIP or MLA or MP goes to Gandhi or Osmania hospitals for treatment as they prefer treatment in corporate hospitals. The condition of government hospitals has to be improved. ,” he said.
He said the government had spent close to Rs 2 lakh crore on the irrigation sector at the cost of health and education sectors. “Irrigation projects should be given a holiday except where completion of the project is absolutely necessary,” he said.
Reddy said the allocations for the education sector were just sufficient to meet the salary bill of teachers, leaving very little for improving the conditions at schools.