CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to disburse the arrears of grant-in-aid to the tune of Rs 7,825.59 crore to Tamil Nadu.
The amount sought included Rs 1134. 41-crore compensation for GST, Rs 383.74 crore for post-matric scholarship, Rs 2,109 crore for SSA, Rs 1,092. 22 for the RMSA scheme, and Rs 1,196. 27-cr Finance Commission grants for local bodies.
In a memorandum submitted to the PM during his visit to the city on Monday, the CM sought financial sanction for the project of transferring water from the Godavari to the Cauvery and increasing the quantity after linking the Mahanadhi with the Godavari. The project would be a solution to the water-starved Tamil Nadu, he added.
The CM also urged Modi to instruct the Ministry of Jal Shakti to accord priority to the scheme of modernising the Grand Anicut canal system and provide State assistance under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
Stating that the estimated cost of the phase-I Metro Rail project has been revised from Rs 14,600 crore to Rs 19,058 crore, Palaniswami sought the Centre’s sanction for the revised cost estimation. He also sought an early sanciton for the phase-II of the Metro Rail project. The CM also urged the PM to direct the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to relax conditions to set up government medical colleges in Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Dindigul, Namakkal, The Nilgiris and Tirupur districts.