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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.”
ADVERTISEMENT
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).