CHENNAI: Releasing a white paper on Tamil Nadu’s fiscal management, finance minister N Marie Wilson on Tuesday said the state’s combined debt stood at Rs 13.18 lakh crore. The figure includes the liabilities of major power, transport, civil supplies and other public sector undertakings.The minister, however, said the chief minister C Joseph Vijay-led govt would ensure corruption-free governance by plugging leakages and improving the efficiency of revenue mobilisation.“We are confident of bringing in change through one principle — a corruption-free govt,” he said. He added that the objective of releasing the white paper was to ensure transparency, accountability and reforms in governance.Wilson said the state’s outstanding debt had nearly doubled over the last five years. Interest payments were crowding out investments, while the revenue deficit had become structural. The state’s own tax revenue had weakened and committed expenditure had reduced the space for development spending. He said contingent liabilities had pushed the true debt position much higher, while rule-based fiscal discipline had eroded.Describing these as six symptoms of a single problem, the minister said they were the result of administrative collapse and a man-made disaster. He added that the new govt would work to pull the state out of the debt trap.
