Finance Minister P.T.R. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented DMK government’s first Budget after the election on August 13.
In his Budget speech, Mr. Rajan said deeper reforms would be undertaken to ensure that Tamil Nadu’s debt overhang was corrected without any delay. The revenue deficit for 2021-22 is expected to go up from the unrealistic interim budget estimates of ₹41,417.30 crore to ₹58,692.68 crore in the revised budget estimates.
Mr. Rajan in his speech claimed that the DMK government, in 100 days, was able to reclaim ₹626 crore worth of temple properties and restore them to the control of temples.
Placing a special thrust on environment, climate change, protection of wetlands and irrigation, Mr. Rajan announced a Green Tamil Nadu Mission to increase the total areas under forest and tree cover to 33% of the land areas in the state. Mr. Rajan also unveiled the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission to focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. The allocation for the mission is ₹500 crore.
The State government also announced a waiver of loans to the tune of ₹2,756 crore due from self-help groups to the co-operative credit societies.
Tamil Nadu has already borrowed ₹36,000 crore so far in 2021-22, and is the top borrower among the States.
