Give back powers of approving industries to local bodies: Anbumani

CHENNAI: Saying that the state government has taken away the power of local bodies in approving industries, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss urged the government to withdraw an order that dilutes the power of the local bodies.

"The government has cancelled the power to provide new licences and renew licenses of industries from local bodies. The powers have been given to district collectors. To ensure this, an amendment has been made in Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 and an order has been issued in November," Anbumani said in a statement.

He added that local bodies are aware of their environment and they could only know about the impact of the industries on their environment. "It is unfair to take away the powers of the local bodies. Since the start of the party in 1949, DMK has fought for autonomy. But, after it came to power in 1967, the party refused to give powers to local bodies. This is the double standard of the DMK," he said.

In a separate statement, party founder S Ramadoss criticized the decision of the government allowing the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) to conduct State Eligibility Test (SET) for appointing assistant professors in higher education institutions.

"TRB does not have expertise or manpower to conduct exercise. The National Eligibility Test is being conducted by the UGC and the SET is being conducted by UGC affiliated Universities on a rotational basis," he said.

Warning that the UGC will not approve SET exams conducted by TRB, Ramadoss urged the government to conduct the exam through Universities.