No new schemes or fiscal consolidation measures in the Budget, says Palaniswami

Published 11 August 2026 · india

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said no effort was made towards fiscal consolidation and no new schemes were introduced in the Revised

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said no effort was made towards fiscal consolidation and no new schemes were introduced in the Revised Budget 2026-27. During the general discussion on the Revised Budget and Revised Agriculture Budget 2026-27 in the Assembly, Mr. Palaniswami said the White Paper on State Finances, recently released by the new government, highlighted the outstanding debt of ₹13.18 lakh crore, a historic high revenue deficit, and lower State’s Own Tax Revenue when compared to some other States, but the Budget did not have any concrete plans to augment financial resources and rectify the issues.

Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson said that the new government had brought ₹15,000 crore to the exchequer. However, this was not reflected in the revenue receipts, he further said. Palaniswami said the previous government had allocated ₹14,000 crore for the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) in the Interim Budget Estimates 2026-27. “But why was the allocation for TAPS not listed in the revenue expenditure? Is the new government not going to implement TAPS?” he asked, alleging that within three months of assuming office, the new government had borrowed ₹20,000 crore, around ₹17,000 crore of which was for revenue expenditure.

He questioned why only 10,000 schools had been taken up under the ‘Super Clean, Super Campus’ scheme, under which daily cleaning, maintenance of drinking water facilities and toilets, and round-the-clock security will be ensured, and urged the government to take up all 40,000 government schools under this initiative and increase the allocation for the scheme to at least ₹450 crore. He said there were 13.3 lakh vacancies in various departments and 1.5 lakh vacancies in 77 public sector undertakings. At the same time, 5% to 7% of government employees retire every year. Taking all these factors into consideration, the government should take steps to fill the vacancies in a phased manner, Mr. Palaniswami said.

Pointing out that his party had implemented a 100% crop loan waiver when in power, he said, considering the current situation in which farmers were affected by drought, the government must take steps to waive crop loans in full for marginal, small, and large farmers as well. He demanded that the government take steps to eradicate ‘Seemai Karuvelam’ (Prosopis juliflora). He also urged the government to take all necessary steps to implement the ‘Nadandhai Vaazhi Cauvery’ scheme.