Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI) has urged the State government to form a high-level advisory committee comprising experts from various fields to look into the possibilities of making Madurai the second capital of Tamil Nadu.
In a statement, its president N. Jegatheesan said that such a panel should be formed before the Assembly elections with the view to promote industrial development of southern districts.
Most of the headquarters of public sector departments are located in Chennai. New entrepreneurs from southern districts such as Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul and Sivaganga have to travel to Chennai to get necessary clearance from the officials to run their units. This causes severe inconvenience to them, resulting in the southern districts lagging behind in industrial development.
Madurai, referred to as the cultural capital, is an ideal place to be declared as second capital of the State. Nearly one-third of the population of the State are residing in southern districts. More number of industrial units have to be set up in the southern districts to aid towards the development of the region.
If Madurai becomes the second capital, many large scale industries would set up their business in the district. Ancillary units would be set up to feed the big indstries in the southern region, generating more employment opportunities for people. Adequate land, infrastructure and human resources were readily available in Madurai.
Other States such as Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh had two capitals. Announcing Madurai as the second capital would spur industrial development of the southern districts, said Mr. Jegatheesan.
