Rs 1 lakh crore budget offers sops, no taxes

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Continuing its thrust on social security schemes, the AIADMK regime on Thursday presented a revenue surplus budget with a total outlay crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time in the state.

Finance minister O. Panneerselvam packed his budget proposals with freebies, ranging from milch cows and sheep to laptops.

In his first budget, he introduced a novel scheme of giving cash dole of Rs 1,500 for SSLC and Plus-1 students and Rs 2,000 for Plus-2 students annually to reduce the dropout rate from schools.

Making hefty allocations for many AIADMK’s poll promises, the budget sanctioned Rs 4,500 crore food subsidy for distribution of free rice, Rs 2,842 crore for social security pension, Rs 1,250 crore for mixies, grinders and fans, Rs 1,081 crore for housing scheme, Rs 912 crore for laptops and Rs 191 crore for goats and cows.

It is interesting to note that the government has not discontinued the previous DMK government’s social welfare schemes – be it marriage assistance, fee waiver to first generation students joining professional colleges or egg in noon-meal every day. Instead it chose to improve upon them.

Mr Panneerselvam said the government has fixed a goal to increase per capita income of farmers by two to three times in five years.

The government refrained from levying new taxes since it had hiked taxes to the tune of nearly Rs 3,618 crore recently.

The government also spelt out plans to increase storage facility in nine lakes around Chennai at a cost of Rs 1,851 crore besides allotting Rs 500 crore for Chennai mega city development mission.

Mr Panneerselvam’s Bodi will get a government engineering college, while Ms Jayalalithaa’s Srirangam will get a National Law School and an IIIT. Mr Panneerselvam also said the government would borrow Rs 17,261 crore this year to fill the resource gap.

* Budget outlay crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time; no new tax is levied as Rs 3,618 crore expected through recent hike in taxes.

* Rs 500 crore for developing Chennai; Rs 750 crore for other towns.

*Chennai water storage capacity will be augmented by 4.2 tmc ft, to cost Rs 1,851 crore.

*National Law School and Indian Institute of Information Technology at Srirangam.

* 3,000 new buses in Tamil Nadu.

* Social security pension doubled to Rs 2,842 crore; free fans, mixies and grinders to cost Rs 1,250 crore.

* Chennai suburban com missionerate will be merged with metro police.