White Paper on Tamil Nadu's finances to be released on August 9

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan will be releasing a White Paper on the state’s finances on August 9.  

The 120-page document will have details of the state government's liabilities, the reasons for loss of revenue in various sectors including TNEB, accounts of local bodies etc during the past 10 years of the AIADMK government.

Just after the DMK government assumed office, the Finance Minister gave reasons for releasing a White Paper on the state's finances. He said according to the revised estimate presented by the AIADMK government for 2020-2021, the debt burden of the Tamil Nadu government which stood at around Rs 1 lakh crore in 2011 had gone up to Rs 4.84 lakh crore in 2021.

When former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa assumed office in May 2011, she was asked to clarify whether her government would release a White Paper on the state’s finances since she had accused the DMK government of increasing the debt burden. Responding, Jayalalithaa said, “If needed, a White Paper will be released.” However, her government did not release such a document.