THOOTHUKUDI/TIRUNELVELI: Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson on Saturday said the state budget would be presented in the Assembly during the first week of August.
Speaking to reporters after arriving at the Thoothukudi airport from Chennai, Wilson, who is also the minister in charge of Tirunelveli district, said people had welcomed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s measures against corruption.
On former minister and DMK MLA Anitha R Radhakrishnan’s comment that the TVK government would fall, Wilson said the MLA was speaking out of ignorance and did not understand the ground reality. He further alleged that the DMK leadership had failed to respect the people’s mandate and said the verdict delivered by the electorate should be honoured.
Later in the day, Wilson inspected the proposed bypass canal project at Nanguneri and reviewed development works in Radhapuram and Nanguneri taluks.
According to the district administration, the proposed bypass canal would divert surplus floodwater from the Periyakulam tank in Nanguneri to 46 irrigation tanks instead of allowing it to flow through the Pachaiyaru and Thamirabarani rivers into the sea during the northeast monsoon. The project will be taken up after obtaining the required environmental clearances and government approvals, the administration said. Wilson also inspected the construction of a new three-storey building at the Government Hospital in Nanguneri being built under the National Health Mission at Rs 30 crore. He reviewed the progress and quality of the works and directed officials of the Public Works and Health departments to complete the project within the stipulated time. He also interacted with patients and later inspected primary health centres at Kalakkad and Thirukurungudi.