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Budget
Speech 2002 - 2003
30.
I take this opportunity to announce the devolution formula to be adopted
by the Government for devolving resources to urban and rural local bodies based
on the recommendations of the Second State Finance Commission for the award
period 2002-2007. A detailed action taken report on the recommendations of the Second State
Finance Commission will also be placed on the table of the House.
Ø
The rural and urban local
bodies will receive 8 percent of the States Own Tax Revenues after excluding the Entertainment Tax
receipts. The vertical sharing of resources between rural and urban local bodies
will be in the ratio of 58:42.
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Of the total devolutions to
the urban local bodies, the resources will be shared between the Corporations,
Municipalities and Town Panchayats in the ratio 31:34:35. The devolution to
rural local bodies will be shared among the Village Panchayats, Panchayat Unions
and the District Panchayats in the ratio of 47:45:8.
31.
We are aware of the hardship being faced by the local bodies because of
the inability of the Government to release the State Finance Commission grants
on a regular basis in the current year.
A sum of Rs.1505 crores has been earmarked towards the State Finance Commission
devolutions during the next financial year. I am happy to inform the Honourable
Members that this Government has decided that the State Finance Commission
grants will be released to the local bodies on a monthly basis during 2002-2003.
32.
Our Honourable Chief Minister Selvi J Jayalalithaa has announced her
commitment to make Tamil Nadu the best State in the country in all spheres with
socio-economic indicators comparable to the best in the world. The Honourable
Chief Minister’s 15-point programme announced by His Excellency the Governor,
in his recent address to the Legislative Assembly, would be the guiding spirit
and the road map for this Government during the next four years. The Budget for
the next financial year incorporates programmes and policies necessary to
achieve the goals enshrined in the Honourable Chief Minister’s 15-point
programme.
33.
During 1996-2001, the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product of Tamil
Nadu was only 6.22 percent mainly because of the poor performance of the
agriculture sector where the growth was a meagre 2.72 percent. Given
the fact that this sector provides employment to a large portion of the total
population of the State, this Government will endeavour to achieve a growth rate
of at least 4 percent in the agricultural sector during the Tenth Plan Period
(2002 - 2007). A broad-based
agricultural policy involving small and medium farmers, which is driven by
technological change and appropriate marketing facilities is a necessary
precondition for an evergreen revolution.
34.
Our approach, therefore, will entail increasing the area under
cultivation through wasteland development, expanding and modernizing irrigation
facilities and improving agricultural output. The necessary meteorological,
marketing and management data to enable proper production planning and ensuring
remunerative returns would be made available to the farmers.
35.
Tamil Nadu has taken the lead in integrating wasteland reclamation with
watershed development and rainwater harvesting. Our endeavour will be to
maximize the land area under cultivation with an appropriate cropping pattern
with high market demand and increase water availability for cultivation
purposes. A sum of Rs.40 crores has been allocated for the Wasteland Development
Programme during the next financial year. In order to encourage private sector
participation for bringing wasteland to productive use, the Government will be
prepared to lease out large tracts of fallow and degraded land on a long term
basis.
36.
Given the fact that horticulture is becoming a growth engine for the
agricultural sector, the Government has decided to set up a Mission for
Horticulture Development to harness the comparative advantage of the State in
the production of fruits, vegetables and floriculture. The Mission approach will
pay attention not only to cultivation but also to post-harvest management and
storage. The main aims of the
Mission would be to achieve the following objectives:
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Improving production through
balanced nutrition management.
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Evolving suitable mechanism for
regulating quality planting material and giving impetus to need-based research.
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Providing adequate infrastructure
for post-harvest management and marketing.
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Encouraging active involvement of
farmers associations in adoption of modern technological practices.
37.
A new scheme, Water Resources Consolidation
Project-II, aimed at modernizing and upgrading irrigation systems in Tamil Nadu
at an ultimate cost of Rs.2900 crores is being posed to the World Bank for
funding. Funds to the tune of Rs.250 crores for modernization and upgradation of
minor and medium irrigation projects are likely to be sourced from NABARD in the
next financial year.
38.
In the Budget last year, the Government announced the waiver of interest
and penal interest amounting to Rs.310.50 crores on outstanding overdue loans
given by co‑operative banks to farmers. I am happy to inform the
Honourable Members that 6,11,193 farmers have availed themselves of this
facility amounting to Rs.226 crores. The
Government has so far disbursed Rs.80 crores in the current year to the
co-operative banks towards this scheme. An allocation of Rs.146 crores has been
made in the Budget for 2002-2003 towards reimbursement of the balance of the
dues towards waiver of interest and penal interest from the Government to the
co-operative banks.
39.
The Government has received several representations that some relief
should be provided to the farmers and other borrowers who were not covered by
the above scheme. I
am happy to announce that a one-time settlement scheme will be introduced to
provide relief to the borrowers from the co-operative sector, both urban and
rural, and to facilitate the recovery of long pending overdues.
Under
this scheme, waiver of penal interest and freezing of
the outstanding balance in the account inclusive of interest as on 31st March,
1998, will form the basis of the settlement.
The amount of settlement arrived at would preferably be recovered in one
lumpsum or within a maximum period of 3 months. It is hoped that about 4.5 lakh borrowers would be benefited
under
this scheme and the relief would be to the tune of Rs.110 crores.
The co-operative banks have agreed to bear this burden.
The scheme will come into operation immediately and will be in force till
30th June, 2002.
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