Narayanasamy blames Centre for fiscal hardships

Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today blamed the Centre for fiscal hardships the territorial government has been facing for the last two years.

The ignored Puducherry in the allocation of sufficient funds to meet its commitments during the last two years, he said in a statement.

He said that the "burden' to repay the loan totalling Rs 500 crore, borrowed a decade ago from the Centre by then government led by N Rangasamy, had fallen on the present government.

Commercial taxes, excise duty, fees from the registration of property and income from transport sector were the only sources of revenue to Puducherry government.

Puducherry government therefore was borrowing loans from NABARD and HUDCO to ensure uninterrupted implementation of developmental schemes, he said.

Narayanasamy said that though Puducherry was entitled to get 42 per cent of its total budgetary requirements, which would ensure availability of Rs 3000 crore from the Centre, "we are sanctioned only 27 per cent of our requirement`, he said.

He said that the government also encountered the necessity to provide Rs 520 crore to sick cooperative institutions and other public sector undertakings.

Puducherry was discriminated by the Centre and the Union Territory was getting only a step motherly treatment without sufficient funds.

Narayanasamy stated that he had presented a detailed memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Puducherry on February 25 bringing to his notice the requirement of as much as Rs 6262 crore to meet the fiscal commitments of Puducherry.

"I have not received any reply to the petition from the Prime Minister so far", he said.