CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ COIMBATORE l tuesday l february 20, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE CITY EDITION This is the fourth budget put out by the DMK regime with just jugglery of words. There are no schemes for the people, there is no big development plan Govt is following the glide path of fiscal consolidation. Reduced fiscal deficit from 3.46% in 2022-23 to 3.45% in 2023-24 to 3.44% in 2024-25 M K Stalin, CM EPS, AIADMK general secy Thangam Thennarasu, FM 14.7% DMK has not earmarked funds to implement most of the schemes. Futile announcements have been made with the sole aim of naming them after Karunanidhi K Annamalai, BJP president state’s own tax revenue is estimated to increase by 14.7% in 2024-25 Illus tration: Sourav Roy In general, budget is prepared based on finance. This budget is prepared based on justice. Social justice is the pivot; everything for everyone FM says TN has grown at 8.19% in 2022-23 compared to national growth rate of 7.24%, targets women and youth by standing on social justice plank FM gives shape to stalin’s dream with please-all, poll-yr budget T Mu r u g a n a n d h a m @ Chennai With the Lok Sabha polls round the corner, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu on Monday presented a please-all budget to “achieve the seven grand Tamil dreams of the CM” by rolling out new schemes and extending old ones. The seven dreams are “social justice, welfare of the marginalised, welfare of women, transforming young Tamils into global achievers, knowledgebased economy, sustainable green future, and Tamil language & culture,” the FM said. The new schemes include eight lakh concrete houses for people residing in huts under Kalaignarin Kanavu Illam, a comprehensive poverty alleviation programme named Chief Minister’s Thayumanavar Scheme, extension of `1,000 monthly aid, currently being given to girl students of government schools, to boys, and payroll subsidy schemes to increase employment of women and build a knowledge based economy among others. , Outlining the government’s aim to create a hut-free Tamil Nadu by 2030, Thennarasu said eight lakh concrete houses will be constructed in rural areas under the Kalaignarin Kanavu Illam. In the first phase, one lakh new houses will be built at a cost of `3.50 lakh per house at an allocation of `3,500 crore, he said. Referring to the Niti Aayog report that highlighted the remarkably low multidimensional poverty of just 2.2% in the state, the minister said in the next two years, the government will launch the final assault on poverty, rescuing around five lakh of the poorest by providing all assistance in an integrated manner. Under the Chief Minister’s Thayumanavar Scheme people from the most vulnerable sections of society, including destitute, elderly persons living alone, single-parent families, orphaned children, mentally challenged, differently abled persons, and families with children requiring special assistance will be identified, the FM said. Under the Tamizh Pudhalvan scheme, boys studying in government schools in Classes 6 to 12 will get monthly aid of `1,000 to realise their higher education dream. The scheme to be implemented at a cost of `360 crore this year will benefit three lakh students. Thennarasu said to upgrade the basic amenities in tribal habitations, ‘Tholkudi’, a new scheme, will be implemented in four years at an outlay of `1,000 crore. Roads, potable water, streetlights, and permanent houses will be created in tribal settlements under the scheme. The government will also launch a first-of-its-kind payroll scheme to make TN the prime destination for Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India, and to incentivise creation of high-paying jobs in new GCCs. “The state will incentivise creation of high-paying jobs in GCCs by providing a payroll subsidy of 30% in first year, 20% in second year, and 10% in the third year for jobs with pay of above `1,00,000 per month,” Thennarasu said. 7 pillars of CM’s grand Tamil dream: Social justice, welfare of marginalised, welfare of women, transforming Tamils into global achievers, knowledge-based economy, sustainable green future, (promotion of) Tamil language and culture Tamil Nadu’s outstanding debt will reach `8,33,361.80 crore on March 31, 2025 if the gover nment bor rows `1,55,584.48 crore and makes a repayment of `49,638.82 crore, as per budget data. It will pay `63,722.24 crore towards interest for the debt. “In aggregate, the revenue deficit is estimated at `49,279 crore for 2024-25. This includes `14,442 crore for loss funding to Tangedco. Excluding this amount, the revenue deficit is estimated to be `34,837 crore,” the FM said. The fiscal deficit was estimated at `1,08,690 crore. Thennarasu said, “This budget underscores the commitment of this government to deliver on the promises made to the people without wavering from the path of e d uca t i o n `44,042 crore allocated for school education department in the 2024-25 budget. This includes `1,000 crore for construction of new classrooms under Perasiriyar Anbazhaganar School Development Programme | P2 transport Deficit & debt: TN says Centre, Tangedco shaking foundation E x p r e ss N e ws s e r v i c e @ Chennai 3 major components: Commercial Taxes(73.5%), Stamps & Registration (12%) and State Excise(6.3%) prudent fiscal management, despite numerous challenges.” “The Union government continues to stifle our state by exercising arbitrary and discriminatory control over our finances. The imposition of stringent conditions on the borrowing limit by the centre has restricted the ability of Tamil Nadu to raise resources to fund its development initiatives,” he said. Finance Secretary T Udhayachandran said the bor- Numbers at a glance rowing plans of the state government are well within the limits set by the finance commission. The state government has increased its spending on infrastructure, he pointed out. “The capital expenditure is going up. The debt to GSDP ratio is well within the financial commission nor ms. When compared to the union government, we are very much comfortable,” Udhayachandran said. Classification Total revenue receipts Total revenue expenditure Revenue deficit (in crore) (a)Loss funding to Tangedco 23-24: Revised (b)R evenue deficit excluding Estimate(RE) loss funding to Tangedco 24-25: Budget Fiscal deficit as % of GSDP Estimate(BE) 2022-23 2,43,749 2,79,964 36,215 12,315 23,900 2023-24 2,72,577 3,17,484 44,907 17,117 27,790 2024-25 2,99,010 3,48,289 49,279 14,442 34,837 3.46 3.45 3.44 `3,050 crore allocated for free bus scheme. The scheme, currently available on TNSTC ordinary buses for women, trans persons and persons with disabilities, will be extended to mofussil buses in hilly regions including Kodaikanal, Nilgiris and Valparai regions | P5 s o c i al w e l f a r e `7,830 crore allocated for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department. ‘Thozhi’ hostels for working women in Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. Directorate of social defence to be renamed as the ‘Department of Children Welfare and Special Services’ | P5 r e n e wa b l e e n e rgy State plans to produce 100 billion units of renewable energy by 2030. 11,500 MW pumped storage hydro power stations will be set up in 12 locations | P5 Housing Eight lakh concrete houses to built in rural areas by 2030. One lakh new houses to be built at a cost of `3.5 lakh per unit | P6 SC to examine ballot Farmers reject Centre’s offer, set to resume stir papers of Chandigarh Mayor election today H a r p r e e t B a j w a @ Chandigarh S U C HITRA K A LYAN MOHANT Y @ New Delhi Court grills returning officer The SC on Monday posed hard questions to Returning Officer Anil Masih, while warning him of prosecution if he resorted to falsehood. “Why were you looking into the camera and putting the ‘X’ mark on the ballot papers?” the court asked, adding tampering ballots can’t be allowed in an electoral democracy THE Supreme Court on Monday slammed Anil Masih, the returning officer (RO) of the January 30 Chandigarh mayoral polls, for “defacing ballot papers” and sought the ballots and the video recording of the counting for the court’s perusal. The bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said it may consider declaration of results on the basis votes already cast instead of ordering fresh polls. The BJP won the polls after defeating the AAPCongress alliance candidate after the RO declared eight votes of the latter as invalid. BJP’s Manoj Sonkar was declared winner after polling 16 votes against 12 polled by AAP’s Kuldeep Kumar. Sonkar later resigned while three AAP councillors defected to the BJP . “We are deeply concerned about the horsetrading,” the bench remarked, and fixed the matter for further hearing on Tuesday at 2 pm. The apex court said the RO must be prosecuted for interfering in elections and directed him to be present in the court on Tuesday as well. Masih denied the charges that he tampered with the ballots saying he only put his mark on some ballots that were already defaced so as to distinguish them from valid ones. However, the bench was not convinced by this argument. The SC directed the registrar general of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to depute a judicial officer to bring the records safely to New Delhi and present them before it on Tuesday . Farmer leaders on Monday rejected the Centre’s offer of a guaranteed minimum support price for five crops for five years, stating they wanted the mechanism to apply for all 23 crops and not a piecemeal deal. They also announced the resumption of their ‘Dilli Chalo’ march from both the Shambhu and Khanauri inter-state Punjab-Haryana borders on Wednesday peacefully . The Centre made the proposal during the fourth round of talks it had with the protesting farmers on Sunday night. The guarantees would come from three Central cooperatives — the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) — and not from the government direct. After the meeting, Union minister for food, commerce and consumer affairs Piyush Goyal said, “we had positive talks and have proposed a very innovative, out-of-the-box idea. The crops which the government has proposed to buy on Mann Push: IMport substitution of pulses Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said, “We spend crores on importing pulses from Mozambique and Columbia. It is valued at over $2 bn. If MSP is given for these crops, then Punjab can lead the country in the production of pulses. It will be a second green revolution.” a n u r a a g s i n g h @ Bhopal rAHUL in Amethi Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Amethi on Monday. Speculation is rife on his contesting from the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, which he lost to Smriti Irani in the 2019 elections | PTI Young Odisha hockey international Jyoti fights to save house @ Rourkela Bhim (left) and Seema, Jyoti’s parents, outside the house | Express ON Sunday night, after India’s match against the US at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in the city Jyoti Chhetri scanned , the capacity crowd for a glimpse of her parents. Once she had spotted them, she smiled. At some level, the Chhetri story couldn’t be any more romantic. She was born inside the city’s main sports hostel at Panposh. That hostel’s meat and drink is in ensuring kids who take up a hockey stick graduate summacum-laude (Dilip Tirkey, Pra- Dallewal, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) said, “We reject the proposal as it is not in the favour of farmers.’’ Briefing the media after the talks, Goyal said, “We have proposed that the CCI, NCCF and NAFED enter into a legal contract with farmers who grow tur, urad, masoor, cotton and maize for buying their crops at MSP for next five years. There will be no limit on the quantity purchased and a portal will be developed for this.” Guessing game over, Nath to stay in Cong seeking support S w a r o o p S w a m i n at h a n assured MSP are tur, urad, masoor, cotton and maize.’’ Apart from Goyal, ministers Arjun Munda and Nityanand Rai participated in the talks. Hours later, Sarwan Singh Pandher, general secretary of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee and Jagjit Singh bodh Tirkey Lazarus Birla and, , recently Amit Rohidas to name , a few). She fell in love with the game. Now, the 20-year-old, already a World Cup silver-medallist in the inaugural Hockey 5s event last month, is strutting her stuff at the Stadium that’s about 10 minutes away by walk. Chhetri’s smiles, however, hides a grave problem her family faces in the immediate future: the genuine danger of being asked to vacate their home by the government. Soon after she was born in 2003, Bhim Singh, Jyoti’s father, moved out of the small hostel (he was working as a watchman when his daughter was born) quarters to a vacant piece of land right outside the hostel. On that land, he built a small dwelling for five, including his wife and three children. A few years ago, local authorities knocked on their door to inform them about an upcoming road-widening project as part of a new bridge. On Sunday mor ning, hours before his daughter prepared to play the US, Bhim recounted his plight to a few journalists. The family has no problems in giving up their house but they haven’t been promised any alternate accommodation either even though they have informed several authorities about the current situation. After the match against the US, which India won 2-1 in the shootout, Jyoti was also intimate with the story “They (gov. ernment) assured me that they will do something but nothing has happened till now,” she said. For his part, Jyoti’s father has already turned towards God for salvation. “We will see what happens, we are at God’s mercy . Wherever he takes us.”  P15 Ending speculation of whether Congress veteran Kamal Nath and his son Nakul would leave the party and join the BJP , Nath loyalist and former state minister Sajjan Singh Verma on Monday said both would stay in the grand old party . “Nakul Nath will contest the coming Lok Sabha polls as Congress candidate,” Sajjan told reporters outside Kamal Nath’s residence in New Delhi, adding that the veteran leader had authorised him to brief the media. Kamal Nath on Monday had a meeting with Congress leaders from Madhya Pradesh for about an hour-and-a-half over the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls and Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which comes to the state on February 22, Sajjan said. After the yatra leaves the state, Nath will start touring the state for the Lok Sabha polls, he added. In a related development, the Congress called a meeting of its MLAs and MPs in Bhopal to discuss the preparations for the yatra. Kamal Nath is likely to participate in those meetings, said Jitendra Singh, Congress general secretary in charge-of MP . BJP spokesperson Narendra Saluja wrote on X, “Nath Sahab has managed to blackmail his party high command with a host of conditions, including his increased say in MP Congress, making him the party’s face again in MP, include him in central party’s committees.” Shashi tharoor says no plans to leave congress 10 years of BJP rule has demonstrated that the ‘grand old party’ is the best alternative. In the latest edition of Delhi Dialogues, he said he was entirely with the Congress | P9