Ahead of the Budget session in the Assembly, the Tamil Nadu Cabinet on Tuesday held discussions on the fiscal health of the State and the need to prioritise departments that require further impetus.
The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami at the Secretariat, lasted over two hours. Since the forthcoming session will entail the presentation of the last full Budget before the 2021 Assembly polls, the Cabinet discussed areas where there was scope for improvement.
Informed sources said Ministers were apprised of the 15th Finance Commission’s recommendation of a post-devolution revenue deficit grant of over ₹4,000 crore to Tamil Nadu.
“The meeting discussed the status of various investments that were received in the recent past. Ministers were given an explanation about the Finance Commission’s grant and how we got it,” a source said.
The Cabinet also discussed the demand from various quarters to revoke the decision to hold public examinations for Classes V and VIII, ahead of School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan’s announcement that the exams will not be held.
During the last 15 minutes of the meeting, the CM is said to have discussed other issues relating to the party, in the absence of officials. Senior Ministers are said to have asked their colleagues to think twice before airing their views on sensitive topics on media platforms.
