Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for an additional financial package of Rs 25,000 crore to galvanise development in the state which has been "pushed to the brink of deterioration" by the previous DMK regime.
In a letter to Singh, she claimed that as a result of "irresponsible and inept administration" of the state finances by the DMK regime, her Government inherited a "very fragile financial system, precariously poised on the brink of deterioration with very unsustainable deficit and enormous debts". She said her government has been taking requisite steps with "grit and resolve" to emerge from this slide by adopting "daring measures" such as hiking VAT rates, state excise duty, bus fares and milk prices.
"The process of development which is languishing has to be galvanised. The revenue buoyancy in the state was also in need of a renaissance", she said, urging the Prime Minister to sanction the additional financial package partly as grant and partly as loan. Jayalalithaa said allocation of kerosene in the public distribution system to the state has been "drastically" reduced from June to 44,580 KL per month from the earlier allocation of 52,806 KL per month.
Observing that there was "no" prior notice to the state and no discussion was held for such reduction which has put the people to "great hardship", she said kerosene allocation should be reverted to level of April this year with an additional five per cent increase.
PTI