Chief Minister M.K.Stalin on Monday, March 4, 2024, accused the Union government of ignoring the genuine demands of the Tamil Nadu government and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was only frequenting the State as the Lok Sabha polls are around the corner.
“The Prime Minister can visit the State, but at the same time, he should consider the genuine demands put forth by the State government. They [the BJP government at the Centre] neglected our request to release ₹37,000 crore towards flood relief following the two disasters in December last year. Not even a single rupee was released, but they want the taxes and votes from Tamil Nadu in order to to retain power,” Mr. Stalin alleged. “But they cannot deceive the people of Tamil Nadu who always stand on the side of the ‘Dravidian Model’ government that works for the rights and development of the State,” he added, while inaugurating the Integrated Collectorate complex of Mayiladuthurai district built at a cost of ₹ 114.48 crore at Mannampandal.
The CM also virtually inaugurated 70 other completed projects at a total cost ₹308.88 crore and laid the foundation stone for 40 new projects at a cost of ₹80.62 crore in Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam and Tiruvarur districts. He also distributed welfare assistance to 12,653 beneficiaries at a cost of ₹143.46 crore under various schemes.
‘Neengal Nalama’ scheme
The DMK government, Mr. Stalin said, has been implementing various schemes to benefit every family in the State. “To ensure their proper implementation, a new initiative, ‘Neengal Nalama’ will be launched on March 6. Under the scheme, the Chief Minister, Ministers, Secretaries and District Collectors will interact with beneficiaries through phone calls to get their feedback on various schemes and services offered by the government for further improvement,” he said.
The State government had followed up on all its announcements by issuing government orders and ensuring their proper implementation, the CM claimed. The announcement to redraw Orathanadu and Pattukottai taluks in Thanjavur district was made during the discussion on the demand for grants for 2022-23 in the Legislative Assembly. The government issued an order in this regard on February 27, 2024, to create Thiruvonam as a new taluk at a cost of ₹7.56 crore and from March 4, it has begun to function, he said.
To ease the challenges faced by people living in rural areas in getting pattas for their Grama Natham lands, the State government, for the first time, has launched the Natham Online Patta Transfer Scheme. This will benefit 75.33 lakh people in the first phase, he said.
Mr. Stalin also announced that the 150-year-old Mayiladuthurai Municipality will get new office buildings at a cost of ₹10 crore. To benefit farmers, the State government will construct tail-end regulators at three places to arrest seawater intrusion in Mayiladuthurai district at a cost ₹ 94 crore, he said.
Some of the other announcements made by the Chief Minister for the welfare of fishermen included improving the fish landing centre at Vanagiri in Mayiladuthurai district at ₹30 crore, constructing breakwater structures at Vellaiyar river in Nagapattinam district at ₹25 crore and a new fish landing centre at Muthupettai in Tiruvarur district at ₹10 crore.
Projects inaugurated
The projects inaugurated by the Chief Minister on Monday include a 700-bedded hospital and other facilities at a cost of ₹ 254.80 crore at the Government Nagapattinam Medical College in Orathur and Revenue Divisional Offices and quarters at Sirkazhi and Vedaranyam at a total cost of ₹6.6 crore. He laid the foundation stone for the construction of the District Police Office at Mayiladuthurai at ₹15.40 crore, additional buildings at the Government Hospital in Kuthalam at ₹5 crore and new buildings for the Government Hospital at Nagore at ₹ 5 crore.
Ministers K.N. Nehru, E.V. Velu, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran M.R.K. Panneerselvam, S. Regupathy, Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Siva. V. Meyyanathan, T.R.B Raja, Special Representative of Tamil Nadu Government to Delhi A.K.S. Vijayan, Mayiladuthurai MP S. Ramalingam, Collector A.P. Mahabharathi, MLAs and senior government officials were also present on the occasion. Minister Ma. Subramanian and other officials participated virtually from Nagapattinam.
