CHENNAI: Will the DMK government's first budget under the leadership of MK Stalin have a growth plan for southern districts? All eyes will be on State Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan, who was elected from Madurai Central constituency, as he would present the Budget on Friday, to see what vision he has to develop the southern region of the State.
The region lacks equitable development, resulting in huge migration of workforce from Madurai, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts to Chennai and Coimbatore.
Although funds could be a constraint for planning projects now, the Finance Minister is unlikely to ignore the south. A few announcements aiming at the region's development can be expected, says Ligi George, Managing Director, Madras Suspensions and former chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (Madurai Zone).
It is learned that the government had held various meetings in this regard with trade bodies and elicited their suggestions.
"The government should come out with a massive plan like building an electronics city in any of the southern districts as it would have access to Thoothukudi Port. This should be similar to what Gujarat did by creating a financial city. Rather than going for a piecemeal approach, the government should have a vision, or create a master plan on how it would develop the southern districts," George adds.
While the new industrial policy, which came into effect recently, talks about a flexible capital subsidy of 40 percent to industries, which invest in southern and backward districts, industrialists say this is just a good plan on paper.
"Until there is no real commitment from the government or a phased plan to pursue growth in these districts, there won't be equitable development," says George, who feels that Palanivel Thiagarajan with his experience abroad could be a game-changer.
Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Srivats Ram says that there is a need to identify the export potential of each district and work towards identifying one exportable product and building the necessary infrastructure.
"This would enable sustainable and equitable economic development in the State," he says.
Former Confederation of Indian Industry chairman of Tamil Nadu State Council Hari K Thiagarajan says he expects a budget announcement pertaining to southern districts. This could be pertaining to the Chennai- Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor, which is a part of India's East Coast Economic Corridor and connects India to the production networks of Southeast and East Asia.
"We are expecting some subsidies to be given for the Madurai-Thoothukudi corridor. But I think there needs to be a huge effort on the government's part to achieve development here," says Thiagarajan.
"Giving stamp duty waivers and power generation tax incentives will not help anymore. There needs to be a big push from the government. Manufacturing could play a key role here. The focus could be on batteries for e-vehicles or hydrogen fuel cells. Since land is cheaper here than in Chennai, the government should definitely push large retail investment, which is coming to Chennai, to south Tamil Nadu and offer more subsidies. The previous government failed to woo investments into the southern districts," Thiagarajan adds.
A mega industrial park between Madurai and Thoothukudi, with major infrastructure similar to the parks in China could be planned. "Once the infrastructure is created then the State government should go in for a plug and play policy," says Thiagarajan, adding that, "If one such hi-tech industrial park is set up, investment would start flowing in."