ECONOMIC DISCRIMINATION OF TAMIL NADU
Paper Projects for Tamilnadu, Real Projects for Hindi States
TAMIL TRIBUNE, June 2003 (ID. 2003-06-02)
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1. Introduction
It is well documented that Tamil Nadu is discriminated by the Government of India in railway projects for years. This has been the case under every successive government irrespective of which party was in power. Every time the Indian Railways Minister announces new railway projects for the year, a chorus of complaints rises from Tamil Nadu. In the past few years the Indian Railways Ministry has found a neat little trick. The railways minister announces some attractive projects for Tamil Nadu, and Tamil Nadu politicians congratulate themselves for getting those projects. Time passes. When the railway budget is released the previously announced railway projects in Tamil Nadu get no funds or ridiculously meager funds, while most of the projects in the Hindi belt are funded. So Tamil Nadu ends up with "paper projects" and Hindi states end up with real projects. Since I am from TamilNadu, I researched the matter as it affects Tamil Nadu. The situation is similar for non-Hindi states like West Bengal and Kerala also.
2. A Few Examples of Discrimination
2.1.
Railways Ministry announced 12 projects for Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in February 1999. At the very same time, the ministry sent memoranda to local railway officers in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal to stop allocation of funds even for land acquisition for these projects. How can rail lines be built if even the land is not acquired? These were meant to be "paper projects". Thus while publicly making a grand announcement from New Delhi, in private, instructions were sent to local officers not to proceed with the project. Note that both West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are further away from the Hindi belt, the power center of India.
2.2.
Here are some examples of how Tamil Nadu projects were short changed in 2001. Thanjavur-Vilupuram rail project received a mere 10 crore Rupees while the project cost was 231 crores. (1 crore = 10 million) What can you do with just 10 crores? At this rate it would take at least 23 years to complete this little project. (In 2002 it received even less, a miniscule 5 crores. At that rate it would take until year 2050 to complete this project.) Madurai-Rameswaram project received 10 crore Rupees out of the total cost of 240 crores. Cuddalore-Salem project received 6 crores out of the total project cost of 198 crores. Thiruchendur-Virudhunagar project received 20 crores while the project cost was 327 crores. Thiruchi-Manamadurai project received 10 crores out of the necessary 175 crores. What is the purpose of making grand announcements of these projects if the Railway Ministry of the Government of India has no intention of allocating sufficient funds to complete them in a few years?
2.3.
We will give just two examples from 2002. Quilon-Tenkasi-Tirunelveli-Thiruchendur rail project received a mere 25 crore Rupees out of the total requirement of 465 crores. Tamil Nadu wants the Salem-Vriddhachalam-Cuddalore project completed soon and so Tamil Nadu State Government is providing 50% of the funds for this project (although it is the Indian Government responsibility to fund 100% of all rail projects). But Indian Government is budgeting in 2002 only 15 crore Rupees out of the total cost of 200 crores.
3. Other Non-Hindi States are Discriminated Too
Tamil Nadu is not alone in getting "paper projects" which receive no funds or very little funds from the Indian Government. West Bengal, another non-Hindi state, has also noticed Indian Government playing games by announcing projects and then not funding them. In February 1999, West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu said that it was one thing to make promises (announce projects) and quite another to fulfill them. He cited examples of over 1000 crore Rupees of projects announced for his state of which only 200 crores were actually funded.
NOTE: Tamil names are sometimes spelled differently by different people. We have used the most commonly used spellings. Here are some variations: Thanjavur - Thanjavoor; Vilupuram - Vizhupuram, Vizupuram; Rameswaram - Rameshwaram; Thiruchendur - Tiruchendur; Virudhunagar- Viruthunagar; Thiruchi - Trichy, Thiruchirapalli; Tenkasi - Thenkasi; Tirunelveli - Thirunelveli.
OTHER ARTICLES BY THE AUTHOR
Further Economic Plunder of Non-Hindi States of India (by K. Anantharaman), TAMIL TRIBUNE, September 2000
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