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Rule 110 schemes in limbo as state exchequer nearly empty
Several infrastructure projects and schemes to empower the state people announced by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami under Assembly Rule 110 in the past two years may have to wait for a few more fiscals as the state exchequer had completely drained out to unprecedented levels, confirmed multiple official sources with the state Revenue and Finance departments.
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“Thanks to GST arrears from Centre followed by economic slowdown and now the coronavirus infection. The Union government funds and grants for the state has dwindled and the Centre’s GST share is getting accumulated for every three months,” an official said adding that the Union government had also drastically suspended the annual basic grants allocated to the local bodies and in the absence of elected local bodies, the state is unable to put pressure on the Centre seeking these funds which have piled up to more than Rs 10,000 crore in the past three years.
“Despite full-fledged operations of registration and commercial department along with the Tasmac outlets, the revenue inflow for the month of June and July is less than 30 per cent, when compared to the previous years. The state’s 60 per cent revenue comes through these departments. Even before coronavirus outbreak, Finance Secretary S Krishnan admitted economic slowdown, but exuded confidence that the TN’s economy which was 8.17 in 2018-19 and 7.27 in 201920 can bounce back in the current fiscal.
But, now the state’s figure will be adverse as the state has lost revenue of at least Rs 60,000 crore due to the lockdown,” another informed source explained.
According to the Secretariat sources and Assembly department data, from 2011-12 to 2019-20 a total of 715 announcements were made in the Budget speeches. Of these announcements, 537 have been fully implemented, while for 161 announcements, orders have been issued and are at an advanced stage of implementation. For about two dozen projects, the paper works are yet to start.
However, the Chief Minister enjoys an execution rate of more than 80 per cent when it comes to the State Highways Department projects with a majority of the projects either completed or in progress taken up in western districts comprising Salem, Coimbatore, Erode and Namakkal. The state had also progressed massively in getting the clearances for nine medical colleges, three veterinary colleges and a law college, sources said.
LIST OF PROJECTS ANNOUNCED UNDER THE SPECIAL RULE
- 2017: New KV GIS substations at a cost of Rs 700 crore announced, only 50 per cent of the projects completed
- 2017 and 2018: Once again upgradation of high-tension transformers and substations at a cost of Rs 1,800 crore announced. Less than 50 per cent projects completed
- Multi-model logistics park announced at a cost of Rs 1,295 crore and training Centre at Thirumudivakkam Industrial estates, the projects yet to see the light of the day
- 2019: Centre of excellence and an Aerospace park proposed with one lakh square foot constructed area at an estimate of Rs 100 crore at Sriperumbudur near Chennai. The project is a non-starter
- 2020: Purchase 2,000 new buses, though a first few batches of buses were flagged off through a ceremony, the project is hit by COVID-19 with the entire transport department now under lockdown
- Thoothukdi desalination plant proposed at a cost of Rs 634 crore is now at the design stage
- Plug and play facilities for exporters announced at SIPCOT industrial estates located in Vallam Vadagal near Chennai and Perundurai in Erode district, at an investment of Rs 50 crore each
- A 50,000 square foot trade complex at a cost of Rs 40 crore, to benefit industries and exporters along OMR IT corridor is a non-starter
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