PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 said the Central government should release additional funds to the Tamil Nadu government for phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project.
In a statement, he said the Central government should not discriminate againstTamil Nadu. He said the Centre had only released 5% of the project cost in the past five years, amounting to ₹3,273 crore. “The Centre is discriminating against Tamil Nadu in this issue, while it has given thousands of crore to states such as Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh for the Metrorail project. It must release 15% of the share capital,” he said.
Dr. Anbumani said that phase II of the Metro Rail project will cost ₹61,843 crore. Only ₹3,273 crore was released by the Centre in 2018. “At the same time, Maharashtra received ₹28,877 crore, the Bengaluru Metro received ₹19,236 crore, Gujarat Metro received ₹15,218 crore and the Uttar Pradesh Metro project received ₹12,919 crore. Compared to other states, the money allocated to Tamil Nadu has been very low,” he said.
While the Centre has given a policy-level approval for phase II construction of the Metro rail project, the Union Cabinet has not given its approval for funds for the construction despite Tamil Nadu government writing to the Centre seven times regarding this delay. “It is not right on the part of the Centre to delay the allocation of funds three years after the commencement of the construction. This should be seen as discrimination,” he said.
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