The Tamil Nadu Budget, presented by Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam in the Assembly on Friday, has evoked mixed reaction from trade and industry here.
Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association president S. P. Jeyapragasam
said the announcement on distribution of solar pumpsets, comprehensive smart parking lots in metro and tier-2 cities, including Madurai, would not only give a smart look but also regulate parking areas. The decision to earmark ₹100 crore for innovative development would encourage students to take up start-up ventures. The budget had given a big boost to agriculture and horticulture sector and the allocation of ₹1546 crore for solid waste management in Chennai and subsequent extension to cities like Madurai would go a long way in maintaining cleanliness. It was however, disappointing to note that the budget did not contain any announcement on the Madurai-Thoothukudi industrial corridor, he said.
Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior president S. Rethinavelu and president N. Jegatheesan said that when the economic growth rate of the country in 2018-19 was expected to be 7.3 %, the projected growth rate of GSDP (gross state domestic product) of Tamil Nadu to be 8.16 % for the same period was laudable.
But the fact that the State was facing a deficit of ₹44,176 crore and an outstanding debt to the tune of ₹3,07,495 crore, an increase of ₹43,000 crore from last year, was lamentable. Increased allocation for agriculture, health, education, poverty eradication, housing and backward class sectors; deployment of 500 battery-operated buses in Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore; ₹18,274 crore fund allotment for rural development; move to refurbish 1986-km-long roads in rural areas at an estimated cost of ₹142 crore and hike in the minimum support price of agricultural products were some of the good proposals in the budget. The fact that GST revenue to the State was gradually on the rise augured well for the growth of Tamil Nadu, they said.
Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association president K. P. Murugan said that while there were a plenty of announcements which would take the State in the development path, allotment of ₹2,747 crore for industrial growth and ₹476.26 crore for MSME sector was grossly low and an injustice to the sector.
While faculty members from the city colleges were in an upbeat mood over the Budget as it looked promising for the tier-2 cities from the point of view of infrastructure development, the rising debt showed that the finances were not all that well, they said. State general secretary of Janata Dal (Secular) K. John Moses said that like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, the Tamil Nadu government should announce loan waiver and not just subsidies for purchase of seeds by farmers.
