Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Monday urged the Centre to accord speedy approval for a proposal to the tune of ₹563 crore sent by the State government to develop Mamallapuram. The historic coastal town had hosted the second India-China Informal Summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping in October last year.
“The Prime Minister promised a tourism development package for Mamallapuram and a proposal for ₹563.50 crore has been prepared and sent to the Centre for approval. I urge the Centre to accord speedy approval,” he said in his customary address to the Legislative Assembly.
During the summit, it was also decided that Fujian province and Quanzhou city in China would establish sister state/province and city relations with Tamil Nadu and Chennai. As a follow-up, a high-level Chinese delegation also visited Chennai recently.
Referring to the recent Good Governance Index which ranked Tamil Nadu first among 18 big States, the Governor lauded the leadership of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami. The Governor also said that the rural local body polls in the remaining nine districts and for the urban local bodies would be held shortly.
Since Tamil Nadu was a water deficit State, inter-basin transfer of river water was essential to meet its water needs, he said. “To fulfil this need, this Government urges the Government of India to divert at least 200 TMC of water from the Godavari to the Cauvery basin, as the initial stage of the inter-State river water linkage.”
The State government was taking steps to secure the release of 17 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who are presently in Sri Lankan prisons. “The State Government reiterates its demand that the Government of India should intervene and have this issue amicably resolved at the earliest,” the Governor said.
Contending that the sugar industry was facing a crisis, which was adversely affecting the livelihood of sugarcane farmers, the Governor said: “As part of the way forward, financial restructuring of the sugar mills is required and I request the Union Government to announce a special financial package to assist the revival of the sugar sector in Tamil Nadu.”
The Governor said that the State government also has proposed several projects to the Centre for consideration under the Green Climate Fund and National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change at a cost of ₹4,682 crore. “I request the Government of India to speedily approve these proposals,” he added.
Published - January 06, 2020 04:32 pm IST
