The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday affirmed its commitment to eradicating corruption and ensuring an honest, transparent, and clean administration by bringing all departmental procurements and public tenders under a stringent monitoring mechanism.
Elimination of Middlemen
"Interference of middlemen and illegal gratification practices that prevailed hitherto will be eliminated," Governor R V Arlekar said while reading the government's address.
Revenue Leakage in Mining
The government alleged "significant revenue leakage" from mineral resources due to corruption in the mining sector and said it will pursue efficient, environmentally sustainable mineral exploitation. It stated that illicit mining and tax evasion are being curbed through stronger regulation and enforcement to ensure revenues reach the treasury.
"Through these efforts, the government is striving to double the revenue from minerals," the governor added.
White Paper Findings
A recent state white paper on fiscal management highlighted mining revenue as a major area of stagnation in non-tax income despite rich mineral deposits. It cited unchanged fees, leakage in assessing minor mineral extraction, and weak enforcement against unauthorized mining. Mining receipts stood at ₹4,433 crore during the last fiscal after the levying of Mineral Bearing Land Tax, which was about 1.5% of total revenue receipts.
