T.N. government should approach Finance Commission if it wants a higher allocation from taxes, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addresses Tamil Nadu government's concerns on GST, Chennai Metro Rail, and hotel industry demands.

The Tamil Nadu government should approach the Finance Commission if it wants a higher allocation from the taxes collected by the Central government, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the media in Coimbatore on Thursday.

Responding to a question on the State’s allegations that it was not getting its due from the Centre from the GST collected, she said 50% of the GST collected went to the States and 50% to the Central government. From its share, the Central government gave 41% to the States.

The Finance Commission set a formula for the amount to be given to each State. The Tamil Nadu government was aware of it. If it required a higher allocation, it should approach the Finance Commission. A responsible (State) government should speak with responsibility, she said.

On the Tamil Nadu government not notifying the PM Vishwakarma scheme, Ms. Sitharaman said the scheme was not for promoting caste-based trades. It supported artisans and craftspeople of 18 trades. The Tamil Nadu government created obstacles to the Central government schemes reaching people fearing that the credit would go to the Centre.

Claiming that Hindi was taught at schools run by family members of some big people in politics in the State, she said there were MPs from the State who had approached her for admission for people of their constituencies to Kendriya Vidyalayas. This was hypocrisy, she alleged.

Regarding the Chennai Metro Rail project, the Union Minister said phase-I was launched in 2019 and implemented as a Central sector project. The State government proposed phase-II as a State sector project in 2018 and the Central government’s contribution would be ₹7,425 crore.

Further, ₹22,228 crore would come as equity and subordinate debt from the State government. And ₹33,593 crore would be loans from multilateral agencies. The Centre had negotiated with agencies for loans to the tune of ₹21,560 crore. The amount used so far was ₹5,880 crore. The Centre also said it would take up the project as a Central sector project later, if needed. The State government was not disclosing complete details. “Don’t blame us for not taking action,” she said.