Unimaginative

Sir, - Mr. P. V. Indiresan's article ``Wanting in imagination'' (The Hindu, March 17) - a forthright post-Budget analysis - is refreshingly new in its theme and treatment, putting several core issues in proper perspective. It is an undeniable fact that the doubling of the defence outlay over the past couple of years has, far from effectively tackling the cross-border terrorism, only escalated the tension in the sensitive border States.

Due to a dearth of employment opportunities in their States, the disgruntled youth virtually swell the ranks of terrorists and indulge in subversive activities. Not surprisingly, foreign investments are also hard to come by in these terrorist-infested border States, which led to the perpetual underdevelopment of these regions. This problem is not addressed in the Budget.

The other grey areas, unaddressed in the Budget, are water supply and housing, both in rural and urban centres. With monsoon playing truant very often and the phenomenal proliferation of flats in urban areas, the water problem has assumed acute proportions over the years, not to mention other infrastructural bottlenecks such as lack of well-laid roads, adequate transport and power generation. In future, to make the Budget more imaginative and people-friendly, the Finance Minister would do well to elicit views from all sections of the populace so that the Budget is designed to meet the varied aspirations of the masses.

P. K. Varadarajan,

Chennai

Sir, - This is with reference to the article, ``Afraid to strike'' by Mr. S. Ambirajan (The Hindu, March 15). He has expressed his views from the stand-point of a straightforward economist. But, with due respect to his erudition, one has to say that his observations, though appearing to be ideal, are not compatible with pragmatism. How else can one term his criticism of the expenditure of Rs. 112 crores for Haj pilgrims? Had the Finance Minister made any cut in the expenditure, all the secularists including the NDA's allies would have disrupted Parliament proceedings leading to serious political consequences.

N. R. Sathyamurthy,

Cuddalore (TN)

Sir, - The decision of the Finance Minister to abolish tax on interest is laudable. The Minister should also ensure that the tail-enders i.e. consumers/ loanees enjoy the fruits of the concessions announced in the Budget.

The interest tax payable on housing loans is ultimately borne by the loanees. So far, the EMIs - equated monthly instalments - fixed include the 2 per cent interest tax also. When approached for reduction of the amount of EMIs, the housing finance companies say this concession is not applicable to loans sanctioned and EMIs fixed during the earlier financial years when the interest tax was in vogue. I appeal to the Minister to extend the benefit to earlier years loanees also, of course, with effect from April 1, 2000. After all, 2 per cent tax on interest is not a small amount to the individual loanee.

P. Satyanarayana,

Hyderabad

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