Velumani meets Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, seeks Rs 1,390 crore funds for local bodies in Tamil Nadu

TN got Rs 632 cr for urban and `758 cr for rural local bodies; min says TN ready for civic polls
Municipal Administration Minister  S P Velumani with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi
Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani with Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi

CHENNAI: Assuring the Centre that the State government was “geared up” to conduct local body polls, Municipal Administration Minister, S P Velumani appealed to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi on Wednesday to release the second instalment of the 14th Finance Commission funds for urban and local bodies for 2017-18.

The minister sought release of funds of Rs 1,390 crore in addition to the performance grants detailed for the urban and rural local bodies of the State, according to the memorandum he submitted to the Finance Minister.

Thanking minister Arun Jailtley for releasing the first instalment of Rs 631.98 crore for urban local bodies and Rs 758.06 crore for rural local bodies, Velumani had provided utilisation certificates of the first installment funds, according to the memorandum.

The Central government had told the State government to pursue the court case over conducting local body polls and appraise it about the situation before seeking the second instalment of funds.

In the memorandum, Velumani also said that the government had set up a delimitation commission which would complete delimitation of wards based on the 2011 census by March end.

Velumani claimed that the non-release of funds would strain local bodies with the financial year coming to an end and requested the release of the second instalment for providing basic amenities.
In the memorandum, the TN minister also asked for sanction of Niti Aayog funds for construction of stormwater drains in the Kosasthalaiyar basin at the cost of Rs 1,784 crore on priority basis to prevent flooding before the next monsoon.

Velumani also submitted memorandums to Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister for Rural Development, detailing how the release of the second instalment of funds would benefit urban and rural local bodies in the State.

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