Centre dismisses Stalin’s charges of neglecting Tamil Nadu, says hiked funding in many schemes
The Hindu
Centre dismisses allegations of withholding funds by Tamil Nadu CM, significantly increasing funding for development projects in the state.
The Centre has dismissed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's allegations that it was withholding funds for development projects in the State.
Sources in the Union government said the central government has significantly increased the funding of projects on Railways, highways, airports and also in schemes in the social and rural sectors in Tamil Nadu in the last ten years.
The sources said the budget allocated to Tamil Nadu for the development of railways between 2009 and 2014 used to average around ₹879 crore per year, while the Central government has slotted ₹6,331 crore for the State in the budget of 2024-25.
As a result of this record budget, the work of construction of new railway lines, electrification, operation of new trains, development of stations and increase in passenger facilities are being done at a record pace in Tamil Nadu, the sources said.
They said the total length of highways in Tamil Nadu has increased to 6,806 k.m. from 4,985 k.m. in 2014.
“Projects having a length of 2,094 k.m. at a cost of ₹64,704 crore have been awarded in Tamil Nadu since 2014,” the sources said, adding that projects having a length of 1,329 k.m. at a cost of ₹48,425 crore are under implementation.
They said the Centre is investing a total ₹2 lakh crore in the development of national highways in Tamil Nadu. The sources said five projects worth ₹4,000 crore have been approved by the Centre in Tamil Nadu, out of which two have been completed. They said the total investment in major ports in Tamil Nadu amount to ₹10,168 crore.