CHENNAI: Making a slew of demands for Tamil Nadu in the upcoming Budget, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Thursday urged the Union government to finalise the location of AIIMS in the State in the Budget without further delay.Addressing a pre-budget meeting in New Delhi, Panneerselvam said the State government had proposed five sites in Madurai, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Erode and Kancheepuram districts to establish AIIMS in Tamil Nadu.
The State government has demanded allocation of increased funds for developmental projects on highways, housing schemes and basic amenities to rural areas. It also urged the Union government to settle the shortfall of earlier payments to the State.Recalling that the State government had already submitted a memorandum seeking financial assistance of Rs 5,255 crore, including Rs 401 crore for temporary restoration and Rs 4,854 crore for permanent restoration works in Kanniyakumari district, which was affected in the recent cyclone, Panneerselvam demanded that the Centre sanction Rs 4,047 crore towards reducing flood vulnerability of Chennai city.
“Funds under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) had reduced to Rs 220 crore last year, compared to the previous year’s allocation of Rs 510 crore. As a result, the allocation for National Rural Drinking Water Programme and poverty reduction schemes such as National Urban Livelihood Mission (NULM) and National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) have also suffered significantly,” said Panneerselvam.
The State government had also urged the Centre to increase the beneficiary contribution to Rs 5.5 lakh from the current of Rs1.5 lakh for building houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). “While the actual cost of house constructed in-situ rehabilitation scheme costs Rs 10 lakh, the Centre contributes Rs 1.5 lakh, which is 15 per cent. The share of the Union should be increased to Rs 5.4 lakh in line with other Centrally-sponsored schemes, in which the Central share is 60 per cent,” he added.
Referring to road development projects to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore approved by the Union ministry, the State demanded allocation of adequate funds to carry out three new elevated corridors in Chennai. Pannerselvam also demanded that the Centre annouce the inter-State river link project of Godavari-Krishna-Pennar-Palar-Cauvery and divert surplus water of Godavari to Tamil Nadu.