CHENNAI: Complaining that more taxation powers are vested with the Centre, Governor K. Rosaiah on Thursday said the state government would stress on fair and adequate sharing of financial resources between the Centre and States. Delivering the inaugural address to the first session of the 15th Assembly, he said, “The functional responsibility for actual delivery of vital public services are with the state governments. The resource distribution is skewed in favour of the Centre, while the state has to shoulder more responsibilities without matching resources.”
The government is committed to improving transparency in administration and will establish Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu through appropriate enactment, once the proposed amendments to the Lokpal Act are enacted by Parliament.
The government would work to ensure declaration of Tamil as an official language of the Union Government and also for use of Tamil language in Madras high court. Earnest efforts will be made to lift the ban on jallikattu, which is intertwined with the socio-cultural and rural ethos of Tamil Society, he said. “The Chief Minister has always championed the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. Through international fora like the United Nations Human Rights Council, the government will continue to seek accountability of those who perpetrated genocide on innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka during the closing stages of the civil war,” the Governor said.
The government is determined to further raise the water level to its full reservoir level of 152 feet and bring prosperity to farmers in the southern districts. The government will continue to pursue action to obtain an order from the Supreme Court for the constitution of Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulation Committee by the Centre for effective implementation of the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
“The frequent arrests and harassment of our fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy while fishing in their traditional waters must be ended and their right to livelihood, safety and security ensured. We will continue to strive for the retrieval of Katchatheevu in order to protect the traditional fishing rights of the Tamil Nadu fishermen in the Palk Bay”. The government would expeditiously prepare Comprehensive Flood Protection Plans for Chennai and vulnerable coastal districts in the State to permanently mitigate the impact of floods. The government would lay emphasis on the effective management of water resources, rejuvenate water bodies and tanks and increase their storage capacity.
