Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday came down heavily on the central government and the Planning Commission for their poor management and policies and for neglecting the state government’s views on various issues.
In her speech at the 57th National Development Council at New Delhi, she said CMs had made several suggestions on the approach to the 12th Plan during the last meeting but unfortunately no reasonable and legitimate suggestion from the states had been accepted.
On the economy, she said, “Many of the adverse initial conditions faced by the country and the slowdown in growth as we enter the 12th Plan period have been caused primarily by the poor macro-economic management and faulty policy making of the present regime at the Centre”.
“The central government has miserably failed in effective economic management of the country and is now forcing the resultant hardship on the people at large,” the chief minister said, blaming the central government for being unfair to the states.
The proportion of central assistance to the states for the Plan is down from 24.42 per cent of the states’ aggregate resources in the 11th Plan to 23.08 per cent in the 12th Plan. The entire incremental outlay on state plans as a proportion of GDP is to be raised by the states themselves.
“Even in terms of the break up of central assistance, the share of ‘normal central assistance’, which is the untied portion, has been systematically whittled down,” she said.
Sustained economic growth requires a clear vision and leadership and it is my deep concern that growth should translate into inclusive development and poverty eradication, according to her.
“The energy security of the country is in great danger and is facing unprecedented uncertainties. This is mainly due to the failure of the government of India to anticipate problems and act in a proactive and co-ordinated manner, to ensure adequate supply of coal, and to provide coal linkages to new power plants. Policy failure on the part of the Centre is starkly evident for all to see,” Jayalalithaa said.
The Tamil Nadu chief minister asked the Prime Minister to intervene, clear the policy muddle and resolve the co-ordination issues between the ministries of environment and forests, power and coal.
‘Cash transfer will not work’
The direct cash transfer mechanism is being touted as a “game changer” and a panacea for all ills in implementation. This is unjustified and shortsighted and reveals how little the Central Government understands ground level realities, the chief minister said.
The cash transfer mechanism will not work for certain schemes like the public distribution system and fertiliser subsidy, where ensuring availability of food grains and fertilizers is much more crucial to preserve food security than transferring cash, she said.
“It is almost as if the central government is trying to abdicate its responsibility and just throw money around, instead of addressing real issues of availability,” the chief minister said.
For other transfers like pensions and scholarships, the state has attempted to operate through banks. However, the banking system, which is entirely under the control of the central government, is as yet unequal to the task of providing the crucial last mile connectivity to scheme beneficiaries without imposing hardships and costs on them, she said.
Further, the implementation of the Aadhaar scheme is getting more and more politicised and the roll out delayed. This will not lead to the desired outcomes, Jayalalithaa said.