Governor’s address flags ‘grave concern’ over Centre’s adverse attitude towards T.N. over fund release

Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi’s customary address, which was deemed to have been read in the Assembly on Tuesday, recorded that it was a “matter of grave concern” that the Union government has been adopting an adverse attitude towards the State government, leading to the continued denial of approvals and financial allocations for several essential projects. (Though the Governor declined to read out the prepared speech and walked out, a resolution was adopted in the House that the speech prepared by the State government and sent to him would be considered as having been read out by him in the House.)

For various programmes implemented by the Tamil Nadu government, the Union government was not only creating significant obstacles for their implementation by imposing conditions contrary to the State’s policies but has also created circumstances because of which such schemes “may come to a complete halt,” the address said. “This situation poses a major impediment to the State’s development. It is disappointing that even during the difficult times faced by Tamil Nadu, when massive damages were caused due to natural disasters such as Cyclones Michaung and Fengal, the Union government has released only meagre amounts, without fully accepting the State’s demands for relief assistance.”

The Union government has also not fully released the funds approved by the Project Approval Board for the Annual Action Plan of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, the Governor pointed out. Due to the non-release of ₹3,548 crore, the State government has borne the entire expenditure of these programmes. “At a time when States are facing significant loss of tax revenue due to the rate rationalisation in the Goods and Services Tax, our [the Tamil Nadu] government urges the Union government to refrain from levying cesses and surcharges, which divert the tax revenues that should legitimately be shared with the States.”

The Jal Jeevan Mission was being implemented with the contributions of both the Union and State governments, with the objective of providing 55 litres of safe drinking water per person per day. “Despite the exemplary performance of the State government, funds to the tune of ₹3,112 crore, required for the implementation of this scheme in Tamil Nadu have not been released by the Union government for the past one-and-a-half years, nor has approval been accorded for any new projects. Therefore, the Government of Tamil Nadu urges the Union government to release the required financial assistance necessary for implementation of this crucial scheme,” the Governor’s address read.