CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary and Assembly floor leader Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday accused the TVK-led government of failing to improve the state’s financial position despite increasing revenue, especially through higher taxes on liquor. He urged the government to take immediate steps to fill the existing 3.30 lakh vacancies in government departments and public sector undertakings.
Taking part in the debate on the revised budget and agriculture budget for 2026-27, Palaniswami said the revised budget showed that the government had neither taken steps to increase revenue nor controlled its expenditure.
The former chief minister pointed out the state’s own tax revenue was estimated at `2,26,740 crore in the revised budget, down by `2,839 crore from the `2,29,579 crore estimated in the interim budget. Palaniswami questioned the government’s earlier claim that additional revenue would be generated through higher excise duty on liquor and reforms in GST, registration and mineral resources. He said the government had expected to raise around `15,000 crore through such measures.
“Even if the next six months are taken into account, at least `8,000 crore should have been added to the revenue. Why has this not been reflected in the budget?” he asked. He also pointed out revenue expenditure had increased from `3,93,272 crore in the interim budget to `4,05,802 crore in the revised estimates, an increase of `12,530 crore.
Palaniswami said the revenue deficit had also increased from `48,696 crore to `55,775 crore and questioned the government over the withdrawal of `14,000 crore allocated in the interim budget for the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme.
On government vacancies, Palaniswami said around 3.3 lakh posts were vacant in government departments, according to employee associations. He said around 1.5 lakh vacancies also existed in 77 public sector undertakings, including transport corporations, the power sector and the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.
He said around 70,000 government employees retire every year and urged the government to fill vacancies quickly to ensure the effective functioning of departments.
