A bag of surprises without freebies
The Tamil Nadu Budget for 2020 was a real bag of surprises.
What was expected to be a bending-over backwards populist fiscal exercise, swung the other way, scripting a real economy story without any goody bag for the electorate on the penultimate year of the Assembly elections.
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who presented the Budget, defended the outstanding debt that is expected to touch Rs 4.56 lakh crore by March 31, 2021, saying it was well within the norms of the Tamil Nadu Fiscal Responsibility Act that mandates that the gap between revenue deficit and revenue receipt should be contained within 3-5%.
A whole gamut of freebies was expected to be unveiled, but the funds have been earmarked for developing areas crying for attention.
Projecting a growth rate in the state at 7.27% for the current financial year, way higher than the national rate of 5%, the deputy chief minister was buoyant on how the state would achieve the target.
Last week’s announcement of declaring the Delta region as a special agriculture zone that took the sheen off the opposition DMK’s electoral sword was made in view of achieving food security for the state apart from keeping hydrocarbon projects away from this fertile area.
It was also seen as CM Edappadi K Palaniswami’s idea of striking a balance between agriculture and industry, thereby resonating with his carefully harvested image of a grassroots-level farmer who has become a CM.
Prior to that, the CM had facilitated the setting up of 63 new projects with an investment of Rs 19,000 crore following his foreign trip.
Former CM J Jayalalithaa’s pet project, the Amma canteens, got a Rs 100-crore rejuvenation shot. However, the decision to use mobile vans to make the canteen food accessible for the labour force, its major clientele, at their worksite was debatable.
Critics said it could have, instead, used the funds for maintaining quality.
The subsidised food project is run in 407 such canteens, of which 200 are in Chennai alone, and has been replicated in various states, the latest being in Maharashtra.