Stating that the Centre had allowed the States to maintain a fiscal deficit of 4 per cent, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday said the State’s total debt was only Rs.74,858 crore as on March 31, 2009.
Denying the charge of AIADMK general secretary that the State government was falling into a debt trap, he said his government was mobilising resources through loans only to implement welfare schemes and build infrastructure.
Mr. Karunanidhi said Ms. Jayalalithaa raised three questions in the Assembly, but left the House before he could answer them.
As regards her question on how the government was going to mobilise money for construction of 21 lakh houses for the poor, he said since the scheme was a plan expenditure it can be mobilised from the resources for the annual plan.
To another question of Ms. Jayalalithaa, Mr. Karunanidhi said though Tamil Nadu witnessed 11.29 per cent growth in 2006-07, it came down to 4.5 per cent in 2008-09, according to the Central Statistical Organisation. But this was the growth rate achieved by developed States such as Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
He said that on Sunday night he received information that there would be an attempt to disrupt the Assembly proceedings on Monday and he had advised his partymen not to be provoked.
