CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government will amend its own fiscal rulebook brought out thirteen years ago in a budgetary reform, apparently as experts say, to accommodate a ballooning basket of welfare schemes that has led to a revenue deficit of Rs 15,850 crore. In February, the government estimated a revenue deficit of Rs9,154 crore for the current fiscal, which has been revised up by about 74%.Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa returned to power after a historic win that rode on a slew of fresh freebies like low-cost scooters and free power. After having closed 500 state liquor retail (Tasmac) outlets, and made good on the word of free power among other promises, the state government has delivered a tax-free budget while presenting the revised budget in the assembly on Thursday.But, the subsidies and grants segment, which includes the freebies, has been revised up from about Rs 62,000 crore in February this year to Rs 68,211 crore to include power subsidies and farm loan waivers.Economists concur on the thought that the high revenue deficit creates a cause for worry but feel enforcing a rigid fiscal discipline on states by the Finance Commission leads to needless pressure."The fiscal responsibility of states was an unfortunate imposition," said Venkatesh Athreya, a Chennai-based economist and a consultant with MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. States, he noted, are bonded with fiscal constraints when they have to feed subsidy schemes on elastic sources for revenue compared to the Centre.Tamil Nadu's own tax revenue significantly depends on taxes on petroleum products and sale of liquor.With the fall in oil prices and the beginning of a phased prohibition, the state's income generating capacity has also been throttled, evident in lower excise duty collection after the closure of 500 liquor outlets out of a total of around 6800 outlets.