Tamilnadu Vision 2023: Reality or Illusion?

When Jayalalitha announced TamilNadu Vison 2023 back in 2012, the entire nation was mesmerized. It was looked upon as a well-conceptualized proposal to boost the overall economy and social performance of the state. From founding self-supporting business corridors in the industrial towns to enabling private sector partnership in infrastructure development; Vision 2023 project was expected to facilitate a seamless, transparent and efficient growth chart of the state.

However that very year, Tamilnadu registered a growth of 4.14 percent, the lowest in the country. Yes! The supposedly glamorous vision was a huge let down.

Surprised with the outcome? Let's rewind the Tamilnadu story.

The year 2012 started on a bad note for Tamilnadu. The state was already struggling with drought conditions when the Vision-2023 strategy was released, and the situation only deteriorated by 2013 with almost 31 of the total 32 districts being affected by it. The entire agricultural and power resource pool went for a toss. A relief fund of about Rs 2,100 crores was released by the government at the cost of infrastructure development plans.

With a cash crippled economy, it is hard for any state to take their plans forward. And, Tamilnadu was no different. Moreover, with no national or international support, at least at that point of time, the vision started fading away.

Another blow to Tamilnadu came when Nokia formally announced the closure of its unit in the Sriperumbudur. The state officials were obviously expecting a cut down as Nokia was taken over by Microsoft, but a complete shutdown came as a shock. Apart from being the source of employment for thousands, the unit was also the livelihood for numerous ancillary units in the Sriperimubur-Kancheepuram- Orgadam belt. Also, it has been reported that other firms in the Sriperimbudur are also contemplating the option of a change of place on account of poor infrastructure in the city.

To reclaim industrial support and give big ticket infrastructural plans a push, the Jayalalitha government sought help from the Centre. And as its well-known that before anything could materialize, Jayalaitha herself got embroiled in a corruption controversy and was eventually asked to step down. Un-stability is not good for growth whether it's political or personal. In the case of Tamilnadu, this political instability brought a lot of chaos and mismanagement, which made the investors even more wary about putting their money down in such a situation.

Tamilnadu is home to about 70 million people and a good chunk of it comprises of the youth. To keep this core population motivated it's important that the state generates enough employment opportunities, which is directly related to industrial and infrastructural growth and political stability. And at this moment all the above mentioned factors look grim.

The state of Tamilnadu needs revival and it is only the centre's support and a good governing body could ensure this. We can only hope that it happens soon.