Chennai: Caught between lives and livelihood due to Covid-19, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is now in a catch-22 situation, so to speak. If he lifts the lockdown, coronavirus would spread, and if he extends it, livelihood, which is already hit, will go from bad to worse.
Already pegging a revenue loss of Rs 35,000 crore in two months, the State may record a revenue deficit of Rs 85,000 crore, the Chief Minister said.
“The Finance Secretary has informed us that with industries and commercial establishments not functioning, there is revenue loss for the state of around Rs 13,000 – 14,000 crore per month, resulting in a revenue deficit of Rs 85,000 crore,” he added.
The expenditure on the salary of government employees and projects can be taken care of only if the State earned a monthly revenue of Rs 24,000 crore per month.
“Tamilnadu incurred a loss of Rs 14,000 crore per month on an average during the Corona pandemic. The loss so far has been estimated at Rs 35,000 crore,” he said.
In past two months, the State government has suffered more than Rs 35, 000 crore of revenue loss. On an average, the government is facing a loss of Rs. 14,000 crore in a month. If the situation continues, it is estimated that this year may see the revenue deficit of Rs 87,000 crore.