NHAI delays legacy of past, will extend full support: Stalin

In his demi-official letter to the Union highway minister, Stalin said, “After this government took over, NHAI projects have been given high importance. We fully realise the significance of road connectivity for an industrialised state like Tamil Nadu.”

“Many of the current issues causing project delays are legacy issues of the past decade. My teams of officers under the Chief Secretary are putting their best efforts to sort them out at the earliest,” Stalin said, subtly attributing the problems highlighted by Gadkari to the 2011-21 AIADMK tenure.

Detailing the efforts made by his govt to resolve NHAI project issues, Stalin said, “Considering the efforts taken by the state government and the resultant progress in the field, your statement has been a bit surprising to me. The state government has put its best foot forward to support NHAI projects in TN and they have helped to resolve many long-pending issues. Nevertheless, I, once again, would like to assure you that my government would provide its full cooperation to NHAI to expedite all the works.”

Pointing out that the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary of State highways department have conducted 13 different meetings with stakeholders to resolve issues in NHAI projects, the CM said, “About 80 per cent of the NHAI issues have been resolved. Issues relating to specific projects like Vikravandi-Kumbakonam-Thanjavur Road and Melur-Karikudi have been resolved with specific interventions of the PwD Minister and Chief Secretary.”