Tamil Nadu Budget lays key focus on cyclone prone areas

New Delhi, Feb 8 (KNN) The Tamil Nadu government today presented the state budget for financial year 2019-20. The State Chief Minister and finance minister, O Panneerselvam presented the state budget in the Assembly in the budget session.

The State budget of Tamilnadu has set aside Rs 2361.41 crore for immediate relief in the aftermath of Cyclone Gaja.

Key Highlights of the Budget are as follows:

   --  Rs 100 crore has been allocated for horticulture

   --  A frozen semen station for animals will be set up at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

   --  Rs 172.06 crore has been allocated towards farm mechanization

   --  Rs 1252.41 crore has been allocated for animal husbandry and Rs 258.45 crore towards dairy.

   --  Rs 420 crore has been allocated for building 20,000 green houses.

   --  Rs 100 crore has been allocated for Anna Varsity infrastructure upgrades.

   --  Rs 18,274 crore has been allocated for Rural development.

   --  Rs 726 crore has been allocated for construction railway over bridges.

   --  2,000 solar agri pump sets to be distributed in 2019-20.

   --  French food processing to set up an integrated industrial park near Chennai at an investment of Rs 2,000 crore.

   --  Rs 172 crore has been allocated for rural industries.

   --  Rs 100 crore has been allocated for new and innovative development projects.

   --  Rs 200 crore has been allocated for sugarcane farmers.

   --  Highways and small ports has been allotted Rs 13,605.

   --  Floating solar projects planned at a cost of Rs 1,150 crore in Theni, Salem and Erode districts.

   --  TN govt estimates tax revenue to increase by 14 per cent in 2019-20.     

The state government borrowed around Rs 44,000 crore in 2018-19 and it will borrow Rs 43,000 crore in 2019-20.

Announcing this in the budget that he is presenting now, Panneerselvam paid special attention to the devastating cyclone that flattened several villages in the delta region of the State. The state government will build 1 lakh new concrete houses in the cyclone-hit regions.

The Centre will contribute Rs 720 crore for this while Tamilnadu’s allocation will be Rs 980 crore.