with Rs 8.6l cr, infra to grow in Tamil Nadu

“Totally, 179 projects at a cost of Rs 8.58 lakh crore relating to Tamil Nadu have been included in the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). We expect that the Government of India would support us (the state government) for the completion of the identified projects”, said Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam, during his budget speech.

Presenting his 10th annual state budget on Friday, Panneerselvam laid high emphasis on infrastructure development in the state. “Late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa launched Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 document which provided the state with a ready pipeline of infrastructure projects out of which the state government could promptly indicate to the Centre, the projects that could be included in the recently-announced NIP,” said Panneerselvam.

He also said that the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board has sanctioned Rs 278.11 crore from the Project Preparation Fund for preparation of detailed project reports, which has enabled the state to speedily pose projects to various multilateral and domestic financial institutions and to the Centre for financing. “Eight major projects are ready for investment in the state and the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Management Corporation ltd (TNIFMC) plans to deploy Rs 2,000 crore for investments,” said Panneerselvam.

Housing projects

Panneerselvam further said that the state government is committed to creating slum-free cities in the state for which various housing projects are implemented.

“Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U), sanction has been obtained to construct 1,32,900 multi-storey tenements at a total cost of Rs 13,677.02 crore under the Affordable Housing in Partnership component. Under the same component, 1,12,876 houses and 65,290 tenements will be taken up in 2020-21 at a total cost of Rs 3,700 crore,” said Panneerselvam.

Recently, Panneerselvam, during his visit to the USA, met senior officials at the World Bank Headquarters, Washington DC, and following the meeting the World Bank financing for the housing sector has reached an advanced stage of approval. “The Tamil Nadu Housing Sector Strengthening Programme will support policy reforms to develop efficient and inclusive housing markets, and to increase the supply of affordable housing with a total development policy financing loan of 450 million US dollars,” said Panneerselvam.