At her meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa flagged Tamil Nadu’s intent to launch a new infrastructure project, Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project-IV, which would carry forward the Tamil Nadu Urban Development Project-III (TNUDP) and sought the bank’s assistance for it.
She situated the ambitious infrastructure project in the backdrop of the AIADMK government’s ‘Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 Document’ to catalyse strategic investments in infrastructure which “would place the State on an even higher growth trajectory and secure the benefits of growth to all people.”
Ms. Jayalalithaa further said the State was planning follow-up projects for the Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Bodies Restoration and Management Project (IAMWARM) and Pudhuvazhvu, meant to tone up rural livelihoods. She assured Dr. Kim that the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project and the Tamil Nadu Coastal Risk Reduction Project would be completed as per schedule.
In reply, Mr. Kim said Tamil Nadu’s record in implementing projects was “really fantastic.” The official release, giving details of the meeting, said he enquired about how the State was able to balance infrastructure growth with development in social indicators and about the concerns in India at violence against women. The Chief Minister explained the steps taken for the improvement of social indicators and to ensure the safety of women.
Onno Ruhl, Country Director of the World Bank in India, mentioned that all the “follow-on” projects would be cleared within a 12-month timeframe.
