Lower borrowings could mean stalled development, unpaid bills: DMK leader Thennarasu
Chennai, Oct 20 (IANS) DMK MLA and former finance minister, Thangam Thennarasu, on Tuesday challenged the Tamil Nadu government’s claim of improved fiscal management, saying a decline in borrowings could reflect slower development spending and delays in paying contractors.
Responding to the ruling TVK government’s announcement that borrowings fell by 21 per cent during the first half of 2026-27, he demanded a detailed disclosure of capital expenditure, infrastructure investment and outstanding bills.
According to figures cited by the government, borrowings through government securities declined to Rs 40,500 crore during April-September 2026 from Rs 51,300 crore in the corresponding period a year earlier.
Thennarasu argued that the reduction alone could not establish better financial management. The government must explain whether it had maintained spending on development projects and cleared payments for completed works, he said.
“Can unpaid dues be treated as savings?” he asked, questioning whether the administration could claim credit for fiscal discipline while allegedly delaying projects and withholding contractors’ payments.
Seeking a comparison with the previous administration, he said the DMK government had earmarked Rs 57,231 crore for capital expenditure in its 2025-26 Budget.
Provisional monthly accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General showed that Rs 13,002.22 crore had been spent on capital projects, including Metro rail works, between April and September 2025, he said.
He asked the TVK government to release corresponding expenditure figures for April-September this year, identify investments in new infrastructure and disclose payments pending for projects launched under the DMK regime.
Thennarasu also questioned the government’s borrowing programme for the third quarter.
Its proposal to raise Rs 48,000 crore during October-December was more than twice the Rs 23,500 crore borrowed in the preceding quarter, he pointed out.
He alleged that revenue receipts had fallen short of Budget projections, leaving the administration struggling to sustain capital expenditure.
The former minister further claimed that tenders worth thousands of crores had been cancelled, construction activity had stalled and roads had deteriorated. Thousands of people had lost their jobs as a consequence, he alleged.
Urging the government to provide a comprehensive account of its finances, Thennarasu said lower borrowings should be assessed alongside expenditure and payment obligations.
He maintained that a transparent statement on capital spending and contractors’ dues was necessary to establish whether the decline represented improved fiscal management or merely deferred expenditure on essential development works.
—IANS
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