The Hindu                11.06.2013

TN plan outlay fixed at Rs.37,128 crore

The plan outlay for Tamil Nadu for 2013-14 has been
fixed at Rs. 37,128 crore, which is 32.8 per cent higher than that of
2012-13.

The plan size for 2013-14 includes the
Central assistance of about Rs. 3,165 crore. In addition, Rs. 9,000
crore is likely to be given from the Centre to the State through various
Centrally-sponsored schemes. Thus, taking all resources, the plan
assistance from the Centre to Tamil Nadu is expected to be over
Rs.12,000 crore during 2013-14, a Commission release said.

The
plan outlay was decided at a meeting held here between Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa, her officials and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman
Montek Singh Ahluwalia and his team even as she criticised the Centre of
copying some of the schemes being implemented by her government.

Some
of its schemes were “belated attempts by Centre to replicate State
schemes,” she said. For instance, the Indira Gandhi Matritva Suraksha
Yojana “draws inspiration” from the Tamil Nadu’s Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy
Scheme, under which government provided a much higher benefit of Rs.
12,000 and a wider coverage, she said. The Commission complimented the
State government for its sound fiscal position arising from significant
increase in mobilisation of resources, especially State’s own tax
revenue for the State Plan. “The State’s Tax-GSDP ratio is likely to
cross 10 per cent during 2013-14 making it as one of the leading States
in the country in terms of tax mobilisation. The outstanding liabilities
as a percentage of GSDP are well within the fiscal consolidation
requirements as per the 13th Finance Commission.”

It
noted that State continued to maintain favourable social indicators,
especially health indicators such as birth rate, Infant Mortality Rate
(IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR),
Neo-natal Mortality Rate (NMR).

“The State also ranks
better than the national average in most of education indicators.
However, there is need to focus on issues of quality of education and
reducing the gender gap.”

Later, Ms. Jayalalithaa
told journalists that a 20 per cent cut was made by the Centre in the
plan expenditure in the revised estimates for 2012-13. “In 2012-2013,
the Centre budgeted plan assistance for the State for Rs. 3,473.48
crore. But finally the amount released was only Rs.2762.14 crore. So,
the credibility of the entire planning and budgetary process has been
undermined and the State finances and scheme implementation have been
adversely affected as a result.”

Despite being let
down by the UPA-II government, the State government not only fulfilled
but overachieved its plan outlay of Rs.28,000 crore fixed for 2012-13
with the State’s own resources. Not only that the additional central
assistance (ACA) for 2012-13 was fixed at Rs. 160 crore but only Rs.
128.63 crore was actually released.

“The non-release
of additional Central assistance promised in a meeting of the Union
Planning Commission at the level of the Deputy Chairman with the State
Chief Minister is a serious matter and we hope that this is an
aberration and will not be repeated again this year and we hope that
whatever the Central government or the Planning Commission has committed
itself to this year will be released in full,” she said.

For
2013-14, she said in terms of resources, 91 per cent of the plan would
be financed through the State’s own resources supported by budgetary
borrowings and only 9 per cent would come from the Centre.

Earlier,
Mr. Ahluwalia told newspersons that “..like everybody else they (TN)
had a slowdown in growth this year. I think they have problems in the
power sector, they have difficulties in getting coal supplies.”

“…like in the rest of the country, water is going to be very big issue (in TN).

The
State is urbanising very rapidly and their own forecast according to
the vision documents they have prepared (is that) by 2023 Tamil Nadu
will be 67 per cent urban,” he added.

The Deputy
Chairman said Ms. Jayalalithaa expressed her reservations on transfer of
funds. She wanted that the funds should go to the consolidated fund of
the State and not to be passed on directly (for schemes).