Finance Minister PTR presents supplementary budget

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Tuesday presented the first supplementary budget estimates, amounting to Rs 3,795.72 crore for 2022-23.

“The supplementary estimates are being presented mainly to obtain the approval of the Legislature for expenditure on ‘New Services’ and ‘New Instrument of Service’ items which have been sanctioned since the presentation of Budget Estimates 2022-23 and to enable recoupment for advances made from the Contingency fund,” he told the Assembly.

He said that the State government has sanctioned Rs 33.56 crore for the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme under the social welfare and women empowerment department on a pilot basis to provide breakfast to the government primary school students on all school days.

The government has proposed to sanction Rs 500 crore as share capital assistance to State Transport Undertakings for the creation of assets in the Transport Sector and a grant of Rs 550 crore as the first instalment to the Tamil Nadu Urban Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (TUFIDCO) for upgradation of roads in urban areas.

The Minister said that Rs 373.50 crore has been sanctioned under State Disaster Mitigation Fund to Greater Chennai Corporation and Directorate of Municipal Administration for the implementation of flood mitigation works in Chennai and its suburbs. An additional amount of Rs 134.22 crore was to carry out mitigation works in highly flood-prone vulnerable areas in Chennai and Chengalpattu. A sum of Rs 1,000 crore is included under the Water Resources department and the balance will be met by re-appropriation from savings within the grant.