Jayalalithaa terms Interim Budget lacklustre

TN demanded the transfer of resources from the Centre to the states should be done as tax devolution, automatic and untied

Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa termed the Union budget as disappointing and said it would neither contribute to stability nor fuel growth.

The Budget will not lead the country towards economic recovery. There is nothing in the Budget for the people of Tamil Nadu to cheer about as there was no significant increase in untied funds, which could be shared with the states, she said in a statement.

Tamil Nadu demanded the transfer of resources from the Centre to the states should be done as tax devolution, automatic and untied.

The proportion of resources transferred through these schemes should be minimised and the resources saved should be transferred untied to the states, the state said.

“The increase in fund flow to the states is a no real increase, but a long overdue change in the manner of release through state governments instead of directly to special purpose vehicles (SPV),” she said.

However, the Finance Minister’s call that states should spend more on National Flagship Programmes appears completely misplaced, she said.

The state governments’ are closer to the people and constraining the states’ fiscal autonomy was unwarranted and any attempt to transfer the central fiscal burden on the states is also completely unacceptable, she added.

Commenting on the interim budget, she said that the Union Finance Minister has again “reverted to his old trick of promising allocations in the Budget which would see cutbacks in the Revised Estimates”. Plan expenditure has been reduced by more than Rs 79,790 crore between BE and RE 2013-14, which represents a 14.5 per cent reduction.

In 2014-15, plan expenditure has been retained at current year levels.

“It is perhaps the UPA government’s way of investing in growth. But it lays hollow even the claims of fiscal stability and achieving the fiscal road map targets,” she stated.

The Rs 1,000 crore for both Nirbhaya Fund and National Skill Development Corporation were converted to “non-lapsable”, which means a roll over of the existing non-utilised fund. The total amount given out through the Direct Benefit Transfer in more than 5.4 million transactions was a mere Rs 628 crore, she alleged.

Deviating from conversion, the Finance Minister has announced excise duty cuts on select items like capital goods, automobiles, mobile phones, etc only for the period up to June 301, 2014, keeping in mind the ensuing general elections, she said.