Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu (TN), Thangam Thennarasu has asked the Union government to clear critical fund and works for Tamil Nadu. This was spoken in the context of pre-budget meeting called by the Union government at Jaisalmer. Among many initiatives needed immediate attention along with critical fund supports were Chennai Metro Phase 2 project, disaster relief work, new railway lines and so on.
Getting Approvals for Metro Rail Projects in Madurai and Coimbatore
The first demand from the Tamil Nadu government is approval for metro rail projects in the cities of Madurai and Coimbatore. These are going to revolutionize urban transport in the rapidly growing cities. Thennarasu said that this infrastructure will improve the quality of life of people and reduce congestion in the cities.
The Finance Minister also welcomed the chance to thank the Union government for the much-delayed sanction it had accorded to the second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail project. While this sanction indeed constitutes a giant leap, it is putting the state through quite a significant fiscal burden in terms of sky-high costs incurred on this particular project. In the last three years alone, it has spent Rs 26,490 crore from its own kitty on the metro project of Tamil Nadu.
Funding Allocations for Chennai Metro Phase 2
The member wanted to emphasize in the meeting, along with the demand for provision of Union government funds of Rs 10,000 crores for this fiscal and Rs 16,000 crores for the next fiscal. In this manner, the Chennai Metro Phase 2 would be run efficiently. Thus, one burden of the State Government on the financial completion of some critical metro projects is relieved. It reduces urban congestion and enhances connectivity within the city of Chennai.
State Plans Financial Issues
Thennarasu also condemned the delay in releasing funds for different schemes of the state. He said that Rs 2,152 crore is pending for the Samagra Shiksha Scheme, which is aimed at improving the quality of education in Tamil Nadu. This has created confusion among 44 lakh students, 2.2 lakh teachers, and 21,276 staff members. The Finance Minister sought immediate release of these funds. This is because these funds have to be released to not let the state’s various educational initiatives come to a halt.
Disaster Relief Funds
There are relief funds for disasters Thennarasu also sought. Tamil Nadu is yet to come out of Cyclone Fengal, which had destroyed some of its infrastructure and livelihoods in the process. The Finance Minister sought the Centre to sanction Rs 6,675 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for providing both temporary and permanent relief to the affected areas. It will be used for the restoration work and reconstruction of critical infrastructure damaged by the cyclone.
Expanding Railway and Highway Infrastructure
Thirdly, it seeks an expansion of railway and highway infrastructures with the support from the Union government to strengthen its economy further. “It would trigger developments and increase connectivity leading to opportunities for economic activity.” He added that developing highways would be crucial to further expand the network of trade and transport that leads to regional development in the state.
Conclusion
This sums the speech by Thennarasu, appealing for timely interference in the Union government that promised to allocate financial resources prompt enough to not cause undue delays towards this state’s projects. To him, the projects related to infrastructure are key-not just to the economic development in the state but the entire welfare of its citizens too. As Tamil Nadu continues to grow and modernise, the state-Union partnership will be vital in pursuing sustainable development and enhancing standards of living for millions of people.
Projects such as the Madurai metro rail system and Coimbatore metro rail, relief work from natural disasters, modernization of transport systems and infrastructure and many other projects will move further for development and progression of the State of Tamil Nadu in the immediate future. Hopeful that matching finance and proper support to those projects will bring this to an ultimate reality and bring both economy and the people of Tamil Nadu on to safer shores.
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