Tamil Nadu Budget: AIADMK govt focuses on flagship welfare schemes, education

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By: Express Web Desk | Chennai | Updated: February 14, 2020 7:31:06 pm

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Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam presented the revenue-deficit budget in the house for the 10th time in the state assembly Friday.

The AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu on Friday presented its last full-fledged budget before the 2021 Assembly election with an outstanding debt of Rs 4,56,660.99 crore constituting 21.83  per cent of GSDP in 2020-21.

Presenting the budget for the 10th time in the state assembly, Deputy Chief Minister O Pannerselvam who is handling the finance portfolio said that the outstanding debt is well within the norms of the 2003 Tamil Nadu Fiscal Responsibility Act.

“The outstanding debt will be reduced to 21.04 per cent in 2021-22 and 21.98 per cent in 2022-23,” he said.

The state allocated the highest budget of Rs 34,181,73 crore to the education department to improve the quality of education across the state. The Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led government, which has been implementing a slew of welfare schemes announced the formation of a not-for-profit special purpose vehicle to finance and manage the Amma Unavgam, the pet project of Former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and allocated Rs 100 crore. The government is also aiming to set up at a world-class new site museum at Keeladi at Rs 12.21 crore and allocated Rs 31.93 crore rupees for its archeological department.

A sum of Rs 2,716.26 crore has been allocated for the Transport department while the Chennai Metro Rail Project got an allocation of Rs 3,100 crore. To enhance women’s safety, the state is also set to install CCTV cameras in all the government busses and set up 13 working women’s hostel in 13 places. This project is set to be implemented under the Nirbhaya fund at a cost of Rs 75.02 crore.

While Rs 11,894.48 crore is allocated to the agriculture sector, OPS said the state is set to launch the ‘Uzhavar- Aluvalar Thodarbu Thittam’ to ensure the close interface of department officials and farmers. OPS said TN is the leading state in converting micro-irrigation in the past two years. He said 7.41 lakh area will be covered under micro irrigation at an outlay of Rs 1,844.97 crore.

“Tamil Nadu is the leading state in converting micro-irrigation in the past two years and Rs 7.41 lakh area will be covered under micro irrigation at an outlay of Rs 1,844.97 crore,” he said.

Further, at Rs 218 crore, eight agro-processing clusters are proposed to be established in Theni, Dindigul, Krishnagiri, Tiruvannamalai, Salem, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Madurai districts under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY).

In his speech which lasted over three hours, OPS said the state government has achieved growth of 8.1 per cent in 2018-19 and the economic growth in 2019-20 is projected to be 7.27 per cent, higher than projected all India growth of 5 per cent.

Pannerselvam said the government focusses strongly on improving the quality of governance and effectiveness of service delivery. “The efforts of this government have been recognised with Tamil Nadu securing the first rank amongst 18 biggest States in the composite ranking in the Good Governance Index released by Government of India on December 25, 2019,” he added.

The total receipts on account of State’s Own Tax Revenue in the 2020-2021 budget are estimated at Rs.1,33,530.30 crore.

For the newly formed five districts – Kallakurichi, Thenkasi, Chengalpattu, Ranipet and Tirupattur, the TN government has allocated Rs 550 crore for the construction of district headquarters and other requirements. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin), a sum of Rs 3,099.07 crore was allocate and Rs 500 crore has been provided for Chief Minister’s Green House Scheme.

Family cardholders with a smart ration card will soon be enabled to draw their entitlements of commodities from any fair price shop in the state. A total of amount of Rs 6,500 crore has been provided for Food subsidy and Rs 400 crore for Co-operatives implementing the Public Distribution System.

A sum of Rs 74.08 crore has been allocated for Tamil Development Department and Rs 4315.21 crore for Social security pension

OPS said the number of fatalities has declined by 38.87 per cent in 2019 compared to 2016. In a bid to achieve the goal of ‘Road-Accident-Free-Tamil Nadu’, the government is set to launch the Tamil Nadu Road Safety mission to co-ordinate the efforts of different departments and agencies. The government has allocated Rs 500 crore, a dedicated road safety wing is set to be created under the Highways department for road safety.

The compensation for accident victims was also revised. The compensation to the family for the loss of breadwinner will be satanically enhanced to Rs 2 lakh in case of natural death, Rs 4 lakh in case of accidental death and Rs 2 lakh in case of permanent disability due to an accident.

A sum of 510.52 crore has been allocated for rehabilitating irrigation tanks. Rs 300 crore has been allocated for the Kudimaramath scheme. A sum of Rs.67.25 crore is provided for taking up the 392 desilting works in the Cauvery delta which is set to be completed before the next monsoon season.

Tamil Nadu Disaster Management (TNSDMA) got an allocation of Rs 1,360.11 crore.

The state police department got an allocation of Rs 8.876 crore including Rs 431 crore for the construction of buildings. OPS said 10,242 police personnel were recruited in 2019-20 and a further 10,276 uniformed services personnel will be recruited in 2020-21.

The government has also announced a reduction in stamp duty currently applicable for rental agreements for a period up to five years, from the current 1  per cent to 0.25 per cent. The registration charges on such documents agreements will also be reduced from  1 per cent to 0.25 per cent to a maximum of Rs 5000.

In Its 2020-21 budget, the TN government has allocated Rs 1,403.17 crore for the Administration of Justice. This includes a sum of Rs 112.92 crore for the construction of new buildings.

A sum of Rs 329.74 crore has been allocated for the Prison Department. The Fire and Rescue service department has been allocated Rs 405.68 crore

Health Department has been allocated Rs 15,863 crore and Rs 12,00 crore for establishing 11 new medical colleges already announced by the EPS-led government.  Rs 100 crore has been granted to the Chennai city commission to manage the risk of urban floods.

Fisheries Sector gets an allocation of Rs 1,229.85 crore. To improve the livelihood of the fishing communities, the state government has set aside a budget of Rs 298.12 crore to improve the infrastructure of fishing communities.

Madras school of economics got an allocation of Rs 5 crore  to set up a research center

Two 60 MLD Desalination plants to be constructed in Ramanathapuram and Villupuram at a cost of Rs 3,041 crore

In the budget speech, OPS said the work on eco-restoration of the Cooum river is nearing completion and the Adyar river is in progress. The government is set to take up the eco-restoration of the Buckingham Canal and all the drains of Cooum and Adyar for Rs 5,439.76 crore. Also, the eco-restoration of Chitlapakam lake is set to be carried out at a cost of 25 crore rupees.

In the 2020-21 budget, a sum of Rs 5,306.95 crore is provided as devolution to urban local bodies and Rs 6,754.30 for rural local bodies.

In the 2020-21 budget, EPS said the Ponneri Industrial Node of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor(CBIC) will be developed in the area of 21,966 acres in Tiruvallur. Further, he said to promote innovation at the grass-root level SIPCOT will establish Industrial Innovation Centres at Sriperumbudur and Hosur at a total cost of Rs.53.44 crore.

A total allocation of Rs 5, 935.13 crore has been made for the Social Welfare and Nonn-Meal programme. To ensure the children in the orphanages are given the best possible start in life, a new Tamil Nadu state child policy is set to be launched. Further, as a pilot project, the government will launch the Elderly Resource Centers in two blocks in all 37 districts

A total of Rs 4,109.53 crore has been allocated for Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare and a total sum of Rs.1,034.02 crore has been provided in the Budget for the Welfare of Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes, and Denotified Communities.

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