Free sarees, cycles, dhotis has caused Tamil Nadu a Rs 2.56 lakh crore deficit
- Tamil Nadu has increased it's public spending to Rs 78,100 crore
- However, its outstanding liabilities have touched Rs 2.56 lakh crore
- The political parties have given away TVs, dhotis, cash, cycles and sarees among others
FollowEvery party in Tamil Nadu’s politics has indulged in giving away things for free in order to strengthen their voters’ base. AIADMK under Jayalalitha was famous for starting a slew of services for the masses at heavily discounted rates whereas DMK indulged in giving away cycles and TV sets among others.
However, this will probably be the downfall of Tamil Nadu’s economy.Â
According to a report by the Times of India, Tamil Nadu has increased it's public spending to Rs 78,100 crore. However, its outstanding liabilities have touched Rs 2.56 lakh crore as per data with the Reserve Bank of India.
"The curse of the freebie culture started in 2006 when DMK chief M Karunanidhi announced free colour TV sets and rice. It was for the AIADMK head J Jayalalithaa to follow suit. In a competitive spirit, she announced a slew of freebies in 2011 and came to power. And the same culture continued in 2016, bleeding the state of its resources. TN is a highly productive, competitive state and it is a crying shame we are in this situation," said S Gurumurthy, political commentator and editor of Thuglak, to TOI.
Tamil Nadu is at 16th position nationwide when it comes to literacy with an 80.09% literacy rate. The state has a poverty rate of 21.2% and has the 7th highest population of BPL families in the country.
The state's current outstanding liabilities stand at Rs 2.56 lakh crore in 2016-17; up by 18% from 2015-16 and 67% from five years ago.
With such high liability rate, Tamil Nadu’s debt has risen considerably more than its neighbouring states.
The habit of giving away freebies is slowly leading Tamil Nadu to a debt trap.
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