The Tamil Nadu government has sought an assistance of Rs 10 crore every year to take up dredging of fishing harbours and bar mouths.
In a memorandum submitted to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was in Chennai on Monday, chief minister J Jayalalithaa requested for a special package for conversion of bottom trawlers into deep sea tuna long liners suitable for deep sea fishing as this would reduce the trawling fishing pressure in the disputed waters of the Palk Bay area.
The state also requested to Centre to enhance the subsidy given by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (Mpeda) for modification of existing fishing vessels to tuna long liners from the existing 50 per cent to 90 per cent as a special incentive for conversion of boats in the Palk Bay area (i.e., Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam districts).
Backward regions grant
Jayalalithaa also asked the Centre to consider providing additional financial support under specific programmes like Backward Regions Grant (BRG) or any other developmental schemes meant for infrastructure development, similar to the special package of assistance extended to West Bengal Government.
“We have inherited a fragile financial system with a huge unsustainable revenue deficit of over Rs 3,000 crore and an enormous debt burden of over Rs 1 lakh crore. Thus, the state is facing severe financial strain even after taking drastic measures by the present government such as improving the state resources by the upward revision of VAT rates and state excise duty,” said the chief minister in a memorandum to the Prime Minister.
It requested for sanction of debt relief pertaining to reduction of interest rates on loans sanctioned from the National Small Savings Fund (NSSF) and write-off of outstanding loans due to various central ministries/departments other than the Ministry of Finance that is still pending with the Government of India. This must be implemented with effect from April 1, 2010 as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission, the memorandum stated.
Tamil Nadu is entitled to Interest Relief on NSSF loans to an extent of Rs 228 crore and debt waiver relief of Rs 212 crore.
CST dues
The Tamil Nadu government has asked the Centre to pay the compensation, which is in the tune of Rs3,861.82 crore, for phasing out CST.
The state said consequent to the reduction of CST from four to three per cent with effect from April 1, and from three to two per cent with effect from June 1, 2008, the Centre had agreed to compensate the revenue loss on account of the above reduction.
The total CST loss compensation claimed by Tamil Nadu for the years 2007-2008 to 2010-2011, was Rs 6,497.62 crore. But, the Centre released only Rs 2,636.50 crore leaving a balance of Rs 3,861.82 crore.
The pending claims are mainly due to the difference in the methodology adopted in working out the growth rate and also on the issue of double claims like revenue on tobacco and abolition of Form ‘D’.
Though the Centre conducted a joint group of officers meeting on September 21, 2010, and October 15, 2010, the issue is yet to be resolved, said Jayalalithaa.
