‘Every Family Has A Debt Of Rs 2.6L’: Tamil Nadu FM Releases White Paper On State’s Finance

The white paper is expected to serve as a guide to the information regarding the fiscal management, state’s liabilities, and especially losses incurred in state-owned corporations.

Every family in the state has a debt of Rs 2,63,976, said Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiyagarajan on Monday while releasing the white paper for the state’s finances of the past 15 years, including both AIADMK and DMK regime.

Thiyagarajan said that the AIADMK regime has made Tamil Nadu currently the largest borrower in the open market amongst all States in India.

The white paper is expected to serve as a guide to the information regarding the fiscal management, state’s liabilities, and especially losses incurred in state-owned corporations including Tamil Nadu Electricity Board in the past decade.

Talking about the 120-page white paper, Palanivel Thiyagarajan said, “We reviewed the white paper released by Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and other states. We also reviewed the White Paper released by the then Finance Minister and AIADMK leader C Ponnaiyan in 2001 and have prepared the white paper.”

“We received inputs from several people and the credit of the white paper will go to them. However, if there is any mistake in the white paper then I will take responsibility. We are releasing the white paper to convey our goal,” he said.

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The Minister said, “The white paper will give details on the development, unemployment and the lessons we can learn from our past mistakes. We can understand how we can rectify the mistakes and reverse the fiscal deficit.”

“We have segregated the white paper into three parts. The Former TN CM M Karunanidhi’s regime in 2006-2011 we were getting surplus revenue for the first three years and the income started gradually reducing only in the last two years from 2008 due to the global economic crisis,” he added.

“Even till 2012-2013, the state recorded a revenue surplus of Rs.1,760 crore but the fiscal balance worsened and a revenue deficit of Rs.1,789 crore was recorded in 2013-14. The deficit grew almost 4 times to Rs 6,408 crore in 2014-15 and there was further deterioration with the revenue deficit widening to Rs 35,909 crore in 2019-20 even before the Covid-19 pandemic struck,” he said.

“Tax revenue growth declined from 11.46% between 2006-11 to 4.32% between 2016-2021. The state indirectly borrowed Rs 39,079 crore in the last five years including for everyday government expenses,” he said adding, “Every family in the state has a debt of Rs 2,63,976.”

Tamil Nadu’s Budget session for 2021-2022 will convene from August 13.

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan promised to release the white paper of Tamil Nadu’s finances immediately after swearing-in as a Minister to highlight the fiscal mismanagement in the past decade by the AIADMK government.