Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Jayalalithaa may plead for additional relief package

By Our Special Correspondent

Chennai June 7. Tamil Nadu's plan outlay for the current financial year will be finalised at a meeting between the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, and the Central Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, K.C. Pant, in New Delhi on June 11.

According to State budgetary indications, the outlay would be pegged at Rs. 7,000 crores, a Rs.1250-crore increase over last year's allocation.

While it was fixed at Rs. 5,750 crores during 2002-2003, Tamil Nadu, facing an unprecedented fiscal crisis, had to reduce the outlay from Rs. 6,440 crores to Rs.5,200 crores in 2001-2002.

However, in the last two years, the Government pushed ahead with reforms in all sectors — slashing food subsidies, trimming pensions and perks for government employees, hiking power tariff and scrapping free power supply for a section of farmers.

And, with the budgetary deficit still exceeding Rs. 800 crores this fiscal, the Government has also not implemented its announcement of a three per cent increase in dearness allowance, as it would cost Rs. 200 crores. At the New Delhi meeting, the Chief Minister is expected to drive home the series of comprehensive reforms package unveiled by her Government and emphasise the need for an additional drought relief package in view of the failure of monsoon for the second successive year and Karnataka's refusal to release Cauvery water.

Economy not grim

However, the overall performance of the State's economy in the financial year ended March 2003 was not as grim as it was anticipated in a mid-year review.

Though the primary agriculture sector plunged into negatives the last financial year, the service sector, particularly a 20 per cent growth in software exports, appears to have pulled the State through hard times. Provisionally, the State's gross domestic product in the last fiscal is pegged at about 5.4 per cent.

However, a comprehensive picture of the economic performance will emerge only after a thorough analysis of the contribution of the agriculture, manufacturing and service sectors, say government sources.

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