Honourable Members of the Legislative Assembly,

It gives me great pleasure to address the first session of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for the year 2002. I extend my greetings to all of you for the New Year. This is my first address to the distinguished Members of this  august House after I took over as Governor of Tamil Nadu.  I take this opportunity to thank you for your warm welcome and assure you of my unstinted support and co-operation in the development and prosperity of the State.

2.   After all the turbulent events in  Tamil Nadu in the year 2001,  I welcome Selvi J Jayalalithaa back as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and  hope that the State will witness all-round growth and prosperity under her able and dynamic leadership.

3.   India is an ancient civilization with myriad  cultures, languages and history. Despite the diversity, we cannot miss the clear sense of oneness that binds us as a nation. The attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13, 2001, by terrorist and subversive elements, was an assault on our sovereignty and nationhood. I strongly condemn the senseless act of violence and convey the heartfelt sympathies of the people of Tamil Nadu to the families of the security personnel who laid down their lives in defense of the citadel of democracy. This Government will extend its full support to the Government of India in the fight against terrorism, especially in the endeavour to enact a national legislation for prevention of terrorism. 

4.   The recent communal disturbances in Western India, particularly in Gujarat, have led to the loss of lives of innocent people, especially women and children. While the people of Tamil Nadu join me in condoling the death of our brothers and sisters, we strongly condemn the perpetrators of this inhuman carnage. The people of this State have stood by the time-tested principles of communal amity and brotherhood and assisted the Government in maintaining peace and tranquility. This Government will continue to give the highest priority to maintenance of law and order in the State.

5.   It has been widely reported in the media that the LTTE has sought the assistance of the Government of India in negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government and has requested that the LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingam and his wife could be based at Chennai to facilitate peace talks. This Government has categorically conveyed its opposition to any such move to the Government of India.

6.    The recent unseasonal torrential rains in the coastal regions of Thanjavur, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai and Cuddalore resulted in the loss of human lives and caused extensive damage to the standing paddy and other crops. This Government immediately sanctioned Rs 49 crores as assistance from the Calamity Relief Fund based on the norms fixed by the Central Government. We are aware that this amount is not sufficient to compensate the heavy loss suffered by the farmers in the delta region. The Government of India has been requested to provide additional relief urgently to ameliorate the sufferings of the affected people.

7.    A precarious situation is emerging whereby the agricultural lands depending on the Cauvery irrigation system may be rendered dry since Tamil Nadu is yet to get its share of water through periodical releases as stipulated in the interim award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal. Honourable Members are aware that this Government has steadfastly been standing its ground on the Cauvery Water dispute. We expect that the Central Government will take an impartial view on this issue. We shall continue to press for the establishment of a technical committee with powers to monitor the implementation of the interim award of the Tribunal. It is also necessary that proper rules and regulations be immediately framed for this purpose. This Government will plead before the Supreme Court to allow the height of the Mullai Periyar Dam to be raised to 142 feet initially, in accordance with the findings of an expert committee set up by the Union Government, and to 152 feet subsequently. We hope that the ‘Krishna Water Scheme’ will be completed at the earliest with the co-operation of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

8.     In fulfillment of its commitment to rejuvenating grass root democracy in the State, this Government has successfully conducted free and fair elections to all the three tiers of Panchayat Raj institutions.  The elections to the co-operative institutions in the State could not be conducted due to over-riding administrative problems. This Government is taking necessary steps to hold elections to the co-operative institutions soon.

9.      The Government is examining the recommendations made by the Second State Finance Commission for the period 2002-07 comprising devolution of resources from the State Government to Local Bodies, measures for improving their internal resources and the quality of services being provided by them. The decisions on these recommendations will be announced and necessary provisions will be made in the budget for the next financial year. 

10.   If the Constitutional mandate of democratic decentralization is to be achieved, special emphasis has to be given to capacity building and improving the quality of participation in our Local Bodies. A comprehensive plan for training the newly elected representatives for improving the process of decision making in Local Bodies is being drawn up so that they are able to play their due role in the overall development of their areas. 

11.    Tamil Nadu has been denied its fair share in the devolution of Central funds by successive Finance Commissions constituted by the Government of India. This Government will insist that the Twelfth Finance Commission should adopt a more rational and equitable mechanism for devolution, which would lay greater emphasis on parameters such as tax effort, good governance, achievement of various indicators like population control, per capita income and infrastructure growth. The main aim will be to ensure that Tamil Nadu is not penalized for being more progressive in socio-economic development.

12.    Honourable Members are well aware of the serious financial crisis that was prevailing at the time this Government assumed office. As a first step towards delineating the extent and causes of the problem, the Government placed a ‘White Paper on Tamil Nadu Government’s Finances’ on the table of the House in the last budget session. This was followed by the constitution of a Staff and Expenditure Review Commission and the announcement of a series of reform measures aimed at cutting down non-plan expenditure of the Government.

13.    These measures have not been sufficient to  reverse the erosion in fiscal health of the State, which has sharply deteriorated in the last few years. The Central Government's decision to reduce the Share of Central Taxes by Rs. 512 crores in the current year, at a time when the State is reeling under a severe financial crisis, has come as a rude shock. The fall in the growth of commercial tax collections of the State Government in the current financial year, which is attributed to the prevailing recession in the national economy, especially in the manufacturing sector, has compounded our problems. This problem is not peculiar to Tamil Nadu alone. The recession in the economy has had its impact on the finances of other States also, thereby forcing a number of States to cut down their Plan outlay drastically.

14.   The Government had announced a Plan outlay of Rs 6040 crores for the current financial year. Given the drastic reduction in the receipts of the State Government, the aforesaid outlay can be achieved only by mobilizing additional resources. This may not be a feasible option since the current financial year would soon be coming to a close. Under these circumstances and after considering all the options available, this Government has decided to prune the approved Plan outlay for Tamil Nadu for the year 2001-02 to a realistic level of Rs.5200 crores.

15.    While taking necessary action to rectify the fiscal imbalance, the Government will simultaneously pursue the agenda for development. The Honourable Chief Minister, Selvi J Jayalalithaa has announced her commitment to make Tamil Nadu the best State in the country in every sphere. "To provide opportunities for a healthy and productive life for all" will be the goal of this Government. This vision will be realised through the implementation of the Chief Minister's 15-point programme which will encompass the following:

(i)     Evergreen Revolution:  Raising farm productivity in perpetuity; Saving every drop of rain; More crop per drop.

(ii)    Food Security: Physical, economic and social access to balanced diets to every child, woman and man.

(iii)    Livestock Security: Upgradation of livestock, better veterinary care; Supplementing farm income; Improving fish diversity and increasing fish density.

(iv)    Water Security: Safe drinking water and adequate water for agriculture, industry and ecosystem maintenance.

(v)     Health Security: Control of all preventable diseases including leprosy, tuberculosis, preventable blindness, and eradication of diseases for which effective vaccines are available; reduction in birth and death rates and increase in average life span; Reduction of Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and incidence of low birth weight children; Adoption of a maternal and child care code; Fight against HIV/AIDS; Special attention to physically and mentally handicapped children, women and men.

(vi)   Livelihood Security: "Work for all" and transition from unskilled to skilled work; Integrated attention to rural on-farm and non-farm employment as well as to micro-enterprises supported by micro-credit; A New Deal to the self-employed through technology, training, techno-infrastructure and domestic and external trade.

(vii)    Shelter Security: Promotion of housing activities designed to harvest sun and rain so that solar energy capture and rainwater harvesting become everybody's business.

(viii)    Ecological Security: Conservation and enhancement of life support systems like land, water, forests, biodiversity, ocean and the atmosphere; Recycling of solid and liquid wastes and composting of all organic wastes; Safe disposal of hospital wastes;  Bio-environmental control of malaria.

(ix)     Energy Security: Building sustainable energy systems with concurrent attention to thermal, hydro, nuclear and renewable forms of energy like wind, solar, biogas and biomass; Energy self-sufficiency for the farm, industrial and domestic sectors.

(x)    Infrastructure for Development: Provision of basic amenities in rural and urban areas; Connectivity to all habitations with population above 500; Bridging the rural-urban divide.

(xi)    Literacy and Technocracy:  Attention to quality improvement in education ranging from the pre-school to University; Special attention to the technological and skill empowerment of illiterate or semi-literate women and men; Eradication of child labour.

(xii)    Folk, classical and modern arts, culture and drama:  Generation of awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of Tamil Nadu and revitalisation of cultural traditions, including the street theatre.

(xiii)   Gender Equity:  Removal of gender bias, elimination of adverse sex ratio, and support services to working women, taking into account the multiple burden on a woman's day-to-day life.

(xiv)    New Deal for the Oppressed Classes: Educational and economic empowerment of the Adi-Dravidas, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, Most Backward Classes and Denotified Tribes.

(xv)   Technological Leapfrogging: Promotion of research and development in frontier areas of science and technology like biotechnology and information technology, coordination of efforts between academic know how and field level do how.   Launching a movement for fostering greater public understanding of science and promoting a new social contact between scientists and society; providing equal attention to connectivity and content in efforts to bridge the digital divide; including access to appropriate technologies in the basic minimum needs programme. 

The Chief Minister's 15-point programme outlined here will be the road map for this Government in the next four years.  It will be the endeavour of this Government to realise this vision by March 2006.