The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved an outlay of Rs.7,665 crore for annual budget which was proposed by the Government of Union Territory, according to Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy.
Mr. Narayanasamy, who met Union Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, told The Hindu , “We had asked the Union Government to grant an additional amount of Rs.1,200 cr. above the total outlay of Rs. 6,645 cr. proposed by the State Planning Board and approved by the Cabinet earlier. Now the MHA forwarded the proposed outlay to Union Finance Ministry. We are hopeful of that the Union Government would clear this soon.”
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This additional package will be Rs. 1,000 crore towards grants and Rs. 200 crore as loans, he added.
Mr. Narayanasamy also urged Mr. Rajnath Singh to expedite clearance for the water supply and sanitation project in Puducherry and Karaikal. The project worth Rs. 2,120 crore is funded by the French agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD).
The Chief Minister also sought release of funds toward rain relief which has been pending for long.
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Later, Mr. Narayanasamy met Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and discussed various schemes to improve port and other infrastructure activities in Puducherry and surrounding areas.
Mr. Narayanasamy said Mr. Gadkari told him that his ministry is ready to fund 90 per cent to develop Puducherry port as a satellite port under Sagarmala scheme. He also requested the Union Minister to take up immediately the laying of four lane roads between Villupuram and Nagapattinam through Puducherry and Karaikal.
Mr. Narayanasamy said Mr. Gadkari had agreed to permit foreign cruise vessels to berth in Puducherry port and a ferry service between Chennai and Kanyakumari.
Funds for tool room
During his meeting with Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra, the Chief Minister sought his assistance to establish tool room and technology development centre at the cost of Rs.250 crore.
Project cost
The tool room will have state-of-the-art infrastructure facilities and business processes including latest machinery and equipment to design and manufacture quality tools. Land is available and the estimated cost of the project is Rs.250 crore.
The Chief Minister also said the Union Minister has agreed to sanction the fragrance and flavour development centres at Karaikal and Puducherry.