The Tamil Nadu Budget for 2016-2017 presented on Thursday by Finance Minister O Panneerselvam has no new taxes even as it envisages a slew of measures to address rural and urban issues in the State. A massive housing programme for the poor and series of rural and urban infrastructure projects are some of the uniqueness of the Budget which has a deficit of Rs 40,533 .84 crore for the 2016-2017 financial year.
As per the promise made by Jayalalithaa in the AIADMK manifesto in the run up to the 2016 Assembly election, 5.35 lakh students in the State would be given free laptops while the short-term, mid-term and long-term loans availed by small and marginal farmers from cooperative banks would be written off by the State Government. The tentative principal and interest outstanding has been assessed at Rs 5,780.92 crores. It will be compensated with interest by the Government to Co-operatives in a span of five years.
leading financial analyst and corporate lawyer KS Ravichandran, while complimenting the FM for not taxing the people, pointed out that the Budget is definitely dependent on Central Government assistance and external borrowings.
The Budget has given special focus to make the “slum-free cities and hut-free villages” envisaged by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa a reality. Under the State Mission of Housing for the Poor, the Government will construct ten lakh houses for the poor over the next five years, said Minister Panneerselvam while presenting the Budget.
As part of Clean Tamil Nadu Programme, the Government will construct 7.66 lakh house lavatories and public toilets during 2016-2017. This is being taken up under the Swach Bharat Mission.
All old temples in villages and towns would be revamped and the ANNADAANAM (free meal scheme) would be extended to 30 more temples. This is expected to alleviate poverty by offering free meals to the poor and needy.
Dry land farming, increasing the productivity and production of millets, pulses and oilseeds will be taken up on a major scale, said the Finance Minister. Tamil Nadu became the first State in the country to have a separate infrastructure fund named Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Fund for financing major infrastructure development projects like State highways, ports and round-the-clock water supply.
A sum of Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked for the project in this year’s budget. It has been decided to launch a Pulse Production Programme to make Tamil Nadu self-sufficient in pulses and cereals.
The Government would see to it that all households in the State are issued smartcards to streamline the public distribution system. Though the Minister did not elaborate on the phased total prohibition programme announced by CM Jayalalithaa, he has restricted the revenue from liquor sales at Rs 6636.38 crore which is much less than Rs 23,000 crore (approximately) earned by the Government through TASMAC outlets last year.
While M K Stalin , leader of the opposition said the budget has no schemes to address the problem of unemployment in the State, BJP’s Tamil Nadu president Tamilissai Sounderarajan said there were no programmes or plans in the budget to take care of natural disasters like floods which ravaged Chennai and other districts in the State.
Dr Ravichandran said there has been a “never before thrust” on education, preventive health care and rural development, skill development and Swach Bharat. “We do not see any special initiative to augment the financial resources and revenue streams as a focus point for revenue increase. There is no special focus on creating employment opportunities except a few mention on new industries and skill development,” said Dr Ravichandran.