Leader of Opposition V. Vaithilingam on Friday said that a clear picture has got to be made in respect of inclusion of representatives from Puducherry in the newly constituted National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog.
Participating in the debate on the Motion of thanks to the Lieutenant Governor’s address, Mr. Vaithilingam said that the inclusion of the Union Territory in the governing council of NITI Aayog was a matter of pride. But there was no clarity in this yet as both the Lieutenant Governor and the Chief Minister were simultaneously representatives of the council.
Normally the Chief Minister of any State will meet officials and seek funds for implementation of various projects.
In case both of them are representatives in the governing council it would be an embarrassing situation for the Chief Minister to express his views bypassing the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory.
Hence, a clear picture has got to be made available in respect of inclusion of representatives from the UT in the council.
Mr. Vaithilingam said that the Centre had also brought down the allocation under Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to Puducherry from Rs. 525 crore last year to Rs. 250 crore, a reduction of Rs. 274 crore in the current fiscal. How is the Puducherry government going to bridge the gap with the present allocation?
He also wanted the Chief Minister to explain the works taken up under the Coastal Disaster Risk Reduction Project (CDRRP) with World Bank assistance of Rs. 188 crore.
Mr. Vaithilingam said that the government had blamed the previous Congress Ministry with leaving a debt burden in the exchequer when the AINRC assumed office in 2011. However, the Puducherry government had borrowed Rs. 690 crore in the current fiscal alone.
He said that Mr. Rangasamy who had served as a Chief Minister and as a Cabinet Minister for nearly 25 years had clear knowledge about the UT’s finances and financial position.
There should be an explanation from the Chief Minister on the schemes implemented under Rs. 690 crore borrowed by the government.
He said that Police officers who must protect the interests of people were involved in various crimes. The government was shielding police personnel accused in the child sex racket.
Taking strong exception to police personnel collecting ‘mamool’ from tourists visiting from neighbouring Tamil Nadu, Mr. Vaithilingam in a lighter vein said that a separate toll booth can be created exclusively for police to collect money from tourists.
