MP Stalin has set ambitious goals for himself, but success will depend on how well he tackles challenges

FEDERALISM IS something Tamil Nadu holds dear. Chief Minister MP Stalin said it loud and clear when his government officially started using “ondriya arasu” (Union government) instead of “mathiya arasu” (central government). He has been praised by some and criticized by others. Stalin said his government was within its rights to make the change. “Our usage is legal and fully in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Indian Constitution,” he said, discussing the vote of thanks at the governor’s speech to the assembly on June 24.

When he met a delegation of journalists a day later, Stalin seemed ready to go beyond symbolism by explaining his idea of ​​governance. “Social justice, the rights of the state and the well-being of the people are my priorities,” he said. He quickly formed an Economic Advisory Council (EAC) with economists Raghuram Rajan, Ester Duflo, Jean Drèze, Arvind Subramanian and S. Narayan. At the first EAC meeting, he clearly stated his goals. “Job opportunities are expected to increase in Tamil Nadu. Per capita income is expected to increase and the social status of people is expected to improve. The state’s economic growth should be inclusive, ”he told members.

Although Stalin assured them that Tamil Nadu was ready for a radical change to achieve these goals, it might not be an easy task given the state’s finances. Its budget deficit for the year 2020-21 was 92,305 crore rupees. The state’s own tax revenue (SOTR), which typically accounts for 70 percent of its total revenue, was stable at Rs 1 01,140 crore. The collection of the goods and services tax decreased by 1.12% to 37,942 crore rupees. Its share of central taxes also fell 5.56 percent to Rs 24,924 crore. On the other hand, revenue expenditure increased 13.3% to Rs.230,332 crore. According to the provisional budget presented to the assembly by then-finance minister O. Panneerselvam in February 2021, the state debt burden was expected to be 5.7 lakh crore as of March 31.

“Tamil Nadu is definitely a welfare state,” said Professor Ramu Manivannan, head of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Madras. “The new government has started well. But to maintain momentum, state revenues will need to increase. You cannot continue with this income deficit budgeting.

Stalin asked the EAC to guide the state to prosperity using its own income, as he pointed out that the Union government had “wrested from states the right to levy taxes by introducing the GST.” In fact, his finance minister, PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, raised some objections at the 43rd meeting of the GST Council. Thiagarajan said the GST system was poorly designed and his state was against the politics of one state, one voice.

Stalin also reorganized the Tamil Nadu Development Policy Council, which functions as the state planning commission, with economist Professor J. Jeyaranjan as vice chairman and Professor R. Srinivasan of the University. of Madras as a full time member.

Stalin, by all means, set ambitious goals for his government. And he made sure everyone was on board. His ministers were urged to go the extra mile. The industries department, for example, was on guard when the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic peaked in the state in May and June. Minister R. Thangam Thennarasu and Secretary N. Muruganandam have worked tirelessly to ensure that the production and supply of medical oxygen meets peak demand. The department has also started work on building biotech industries in the state.

Immediately after taking office on May 7, Stalin installed a new set of key officials: Chief Secretary V. Irai Anbu, Principal Secretary T. Udhayachandran, and Secretaries P. Umanath, MS Shanmugam and Anu George. In addition, Shilpa Prabhakar was in charge of the new “CM in your constituency” department, which worked on resolving public grievances in the first 100 days of government. Stalin had promised this during his campaign for the parliamentary elections. Some 70,000 petitions were heard and resolved in the first 45 days.

One of Stalin’s biggest challenges is dealing with bureaucrats sympathetic to AIADMK. They form an important part of the state government apparatus, thanks to the AIADMK rule which has lasted for a decade. While Stalin’s long administrative experience may be helpful in dealing with them, he already has a taste of what they are capable of. Officials recently discovered that data for several crucial departments like local government, highways, public works, public health and revenue had been removed from computers. Government receipts issued for purchases in these departments have been destroyed. “The hard drives were formatted without backups,” said a senior official at the Secretary of State. An internal circular was sent to the agents of these services to restore data between 2017-2020 from the files.

Despite such setbacks, Stalin managed to give the impression that he was serious. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to maintain the momentum.