‘People’s welfare is key’
Chief Minister EDAPPADI K. PALANISWAMI spoke to AMARNATH K. MENON on how the state stole the show in this year’s survey. Excerpts:
Q. Tamil Nadu has emerged as the best performing large state. What has the state done differently?
Tamil Nadu was set on a high growth trajectory by Puratchi Thalaivi Amma (the late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa). This government has followed the path shown by her. We have a focused economic strategy of promoting industries and other sectors that are oriented towards generation of jobs. The high quality of human resources is our biggest asset. The State’s Skill Development Mission has had a big role in this, helping us attract a range of businesses and investors. Proactive and investor-friendly policies have meant that today Tamil Nadu’s industrial and services sector base is not just large, but diversified too. The state also has a much more even spread of development geographically; the disparities in development among the districts is not as wide as in some other states.
Q. You have a large range of populist welfare programmes. Aren’t some of these a drain on the exchequer? People’s welfare is uppermost in our minds. All of these schemes serve a specific need. Like the laptop distribution scheme, which has substantially reduced the digital divide in society and ensured that even poor students from rural areas have access to the most updated knowledge products. Many of our schemes which were dubbed populist when they were first implemented have now been accepted as models even by international agencies. All these social schemes create a social dividend which is enjoyed by investors in the state. More jobs are created and more income is generated which in turn nourishes the state exchequer. They are a long-term investment in social capital.
Q. Less than half the 217 projects enshrined in the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 document have been taken up so far. Work is on in 100 projects and some are even complete. Many more projects are at various stages of implementation. We intend to adhere to the deadline set in the vision document.
Q. What is your most significant contribution as chief minister? Providing stability and continuity after the demise of our great leader has been the most significant contribution. I have also ensured that government business gets disposed without delays. Quick decision-making has speeded up the implementation of a number of welfare schemes and projects.
Q. What are the policing measures introduced to improve law and order? Tamil Nadu is well known for its professional police force. We ensure adequate manpower and equip them with skill and equipment, besides keeping their morale at the highest level. It also has state-of-the-art technology to back it up. Every problem or agitation is resolved through talks, and solutions found. This has resulted in drastic reduction in social tensions and labour unrest. The ‘Kavalan SOS’ mobile app has drastically improved safety and security, especially for women and children, by providing round-the-clock police assistance in emergency and distress situations. Because of our efforts, Chennai has been declared as safest metro city and Coimbatore safest big city for women in India by the National Crime Records Bureau.
in terms of the infant mortality and birth rate, and ‘third highest’ in terms of life expectancy. The many health welfare programmes have again played a major role in this.
Vision 2023 envisages the state providing ‘high quality affordable education’ and becoming the country’s ‘knowledge capital’. There is a major focus on improving the quality of education and ensuring that opportunities are available to all segments of society. Tamil Nadu was No. 1 in the Composite Education Development Index on elementary education. Here again, welfare programmes lead the way. Free laptops, special cash incentives to reduce dropouts at secondary level, free school kits, better infrastructure and recruitment of quality teachers are among the major ones. In the past five years, 74,316 teachers have been appointed to government schools, bringing the teacher-pupil ratio to 1:15, significantly better than the national norm.
From education, development is but the next logical step.