A White Paper on financial status of the Tamil Nadu government is almost done,with senior official saying it should be ready in few days . Chief Minister C . Joseph Vijay promised to release it shortly after taking office last month, claiming previous DMK administration left the treasury in bad shape.
On Saturday, Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson said in Nagapattinam that finalizing the White Paper could take up to two weeks. government plans to present it in the Assembly,similar to what the AIADMK did in August 2001 when Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan introduced a similar report during his Budget speech.
Two decades later,the DMK government also released a financial report before its Budget, addressed by former Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. The current administration, though,faces tight financial circumstances,raising worries that many of TVK party's campaign promises might not happen.
To deliver on about a dozen promises,the government would need over ₹1 lakh crore each year. These include boosting monthly aid for women from ₹1,000 to ₹2,500,offering free bus rides for women statewide, providing six free cooking gas refills,and giving gold coins to eligible women at marriage . Other promises include gold rings for newborns in government hospitals,raising old age pensions to ₹3,000,and giving ₹15,000 annually to parents of schoolchildren up to Class 12.
So far, government has only partly kept its promises, like providing 200 units of free electricity monthly for domestic users and waiving crop loans for small and marginal farmers from cooperative societies, plus a 50% waiver for larger farmers. While the free electricity program hasn't faced backlash, the crop loan waiver has drawn criticism from various political parties and farmers' groups,including allies of the ruling TVK.
The administration hasn't clarified how it plans to roll out the increased monthly assistance for women,which would cost about ₹39,000 crore annually if it covers the current 1.3 crore beneficiaries . Farmers are still unhappy about the crop loan waiver, leading an agricultural expert to suggest the government tie its ₹15,000 annual support for farmers to the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) scheme, which gives ₹6,000 a year to each beneficiary. Currently,around 22 lakh farmers in Tamil Nadu are part of PM-KISAN. If the state adds ₹9,000 per farmer, yearly cost would be around ₹1,980 crore,compared to ₹3,300 crore for the full ₹15,000 .
Before the White Paper can be released, several steps must happen first. The State Cabinet hasn't met formally yet,and date for Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar to address the Assembly is still up in the air. In Tamil Nadu, the Cabinet usually reviews the Governor's address and State Budget but doesn’t formally approve them. Last week,Mr. Arlekar, who also serves as Governor of Kerala,spoke to the Kerala Assembly . Tamil Nadu government is waiting for a full-time Governor before finalizing Governor's address.
