The State government should consult people's organisations before announcing budget proposals, and produce Action Taken Reports (ATR) on the previous years' budget proposals to show how promises have been kept, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder S. Ramadoss said on Sunday.
Releasing the party's “shadow budget” for 2010-2011 at a press meet here, Dr. Ramadoss said the State's economic growth had not yielded many benefits to the people. To assess how people were faring in the State, the government should release an Economic Survey and an Outcome Budget, along with an agriculture budget for farmers, he said.
In the “shadow budget,” which the party has been releasing each year since 2002, Dr. Ramadoss said a life of poverty was a human rights violation and the party would provide each month conditional cash transfers of Rs. 1,000 to families living below the poverty line (BPL), as had been done in Brazil, Mexico and other developing countries.
This scheme would be implemented on a trial basis in the five districts – Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Ariyalur and Perambalur – ranking lowest in the Human Development Index (HDI), he said.
The party would insist on total prohibition and control on the sale of tobacco products. He said the revenue loss could be compensated using various measures. The proposal to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) in place of various indirect taxes was welcome, but the State should make sure this did not result in loss of revenues, he said.
The government should take over school education completely after compensating private school owners, and implement the neighbourhood schools system which had been successful in New Delhi. He also called for the formulation of a Tamil Nadu Control of Organised Crime Act (TNCOCA) after analysing the Uttar Pradesh Act carefully and taking in its good features.
A Public Health Bill similar to the one passed in Assam would be introduced making medical assistance a fundamental right of the people and 24 hour quality health care would be provided, Dr. Ramadoss said. The party would also look at gender parity and take steps to ensure that funds were spent equitably for both men and women, he added.
The party would also look at granting more powers to local bodies and appoint a commission to submit a White Paper on the functioning of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB), which he said had been bankrupted due to administrative inefficiency and political interference.
