The government has given its nod for acquisition of 563 acres for expansion of Salem Airport, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has said.
“We have accepted the request from Airports Authority of India seeking lands to expand the Salem Airport and begun the land acquisition process through the Salem district administration,” he told an interaction session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here on Sunday.
Entrepreneurs, businessmen and representatives of various industrial associations from Erode, Namakkal and Salem districts attended the session.
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Mr. Stalin also assured that steps would be taken up for implementation of the marine discharge project to handle effluents from textile industries in various districts, including Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur and Karur. A draft plan was being prepared for implementation of the project, which is estimated to cost over Rs. 800 crore. The State and Central governments had earmarked over Rs. 300 crore for this project, he added.
Mr. Stalin, while assuring support for the growth of industries, expressed concern over the pollution and urged the industrial units to take up efforts to protect the environment. “We continue to get reports about industries polluting the environment. It is the responsibility of the industries to protect and conserve the environment.”
Tamil Nadu was ranked third in the industrial development. The DMK government had attracted over Rs. 49,000 crore investment to the State. “The government will continue to support the industries.”
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Industries Secretary Rajeev Ranjan, Highways Secretary G. Santhanam, Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Chairman C.P. Singh, Small Industries Development Corporation Limited Chairman N.S. Palaniappan, Collector T. Soundiah, CII Tamil Nadu State Council Chairperson Nandini Rangaswamy, CII Erode Zone Chairman G. Sundaram and senior officials were present.
SHG concept
Earlier, participating at a government function, Mr. Stalin said that the self-help group concept turned out to be a very successful movement in the State, providing opportunities for a large number of women to enhance their socio-economic conditions.
Ever since the concept was introduced in Dharmapuri in 1989 with the objective of empowering women economically, SHGs had expanded rapidly with the number of groups exceeding over four lakhs and membership touching 74 lakhs.
He distributed welfare assistance and loans to the tune of Rs. 11.96 crore to 1652 beneficiaries. He laid foundation for development projects worth Rs. 48.96 crore. He also inaugurated buildings and various other completed works worth Rs. 21.46 crore.
MLAs NKKP Raja, R.M. Palanisamy, Vidiyal Sekar and senior officials were present. Later, Mr. Stalin inspected the implementation of Kalaignar Housing Scheme at a few places in the district.