Light up reform

That the state government carried out an elaborate process of consultation with various sections, apprising them of its economic compulsions, explains why the Opposition is unlikely to go far with its agitational plans, which lack both conviction and bite.

By announcing a cash support scheme for the state’s 9.41 lakh small and marginal farmers and hutment dwellers, virtually simultaneously, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has judiciously sugar-coated the bitter but necessary pill. With the farmers reeling under successive droughts, this prop should come to their rescue, at least for now when they need the support desperately.

The hike in power tariff and the withdrawal of exemption to farm sector are steps in the right direction but much else needs to be done to take the reform process further. While the transmission and distribution losses at 16.3 per cent are substantially lower than the national average of 27.5 per cent, there is considerable scope to reduce these further. For this, it is incumbent on the TNEB to achieve total metering. At the same time, operations costs need to be reduced drastically to enable our exports to compete more effectively with markets like China and Thailand where it is much lower. Augmenting the state’s power capacity must also get the priority it deserves. Indeed, there should be no let-up in the work on the atomic reactors being fabricated at Koodankulam and Kalpakkam. All in all, the direction seems positive but there is a great more to achieve, if Tamil Nadu is to emerge as a model state.