Prime Minister’s adviser T.K.A. Nair will be meeting Chief Minister Jayalalithaa soon to thrash out various issues that are hampering the implementation of six mega infrastructure projects in the State.
According to informed sources, he has written a letter to the Tamil Nadu government seeking an appointment with the Chief Minister and the chief secretary Debendranath Sarangi to discuss the progress of these projects.
Mr. Nair has been visiting the city periodically to review the progress on the Chennai-Bangalore Expressway, Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated link road and Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP), following complaints from Japanese investors about lack of infrastructure projects in Ennore-Manali area.
This time around, he would be discussing three more projects relating to construction of the airport at Sriperumbudur for which land has been identified and a report submitted to the chief secretary for the State government’s final clearance and laying of additional rail lines.
The Rs.1,815-crore Chennai Port-Maduravoyal elevated link project has been stalled since April due to the State’s Water Resources Department alleging deviations in the alignment. As of now, only 30 per cent of the work has been completed. Work along the Cooum river in several areas is yet to be taken up. While several piers have been erected at the Maduravoyal side, a final decision is yet to be taken about the landing point at Chennai Port.
Though the work on the Rs.60-crore EMRIP is proceeding at different paces in different places, only 50 per cent of the work has been completed and it is likely to miss the June 2013 deadline envisaged by the shipping minister. The shifting of tenements in NTO Kuppam and Cherian Nagar and relocating the Bhavaniamman temple holds the key to the completion of the project.
The 258-km long Chennai-Bangalore Expressway, a third alternative route to Bangalore, has been approved by all the three states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh through which the road would run. The consultant has submitted the final feasibility report. The land acquisition process has commenced for all the states.
