Ministers react to Vanathi’s speech, Senthilbalaji asks to get facts right on excise

CHENNAI: Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan on Friday told the State Assembly that 85 per cent of land acquisition for expansion of the Coimbatore airport has been completed.

The Minister was responding to BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan’s charges that the land acquisition for the airport expansion project has been delayed.

Vanathi also demanded the Tamil Nadu government to hold talks with the Kerala government to increase the water storage in Siruvani dam to address the water shortage in Coimbatore.

She continued that the government should not restrict the Global Investor Meet (GIM) in Chennai and it should be conducted in tier II cities like Coimbatore to promote industrial growth in the region.

Welcoming the TN government’s announcement about the launch of Rs 1,000 financial aid to women head, the MLA said the government designed each scheme with a targeted intervention.

The government should link the Aadhaar card of the consumers of the Tasmac outlets and enroll women head of their families under the scheme.

She also pointed out that the revenue of the state government is mostly through excise.

Intervening, Minister for Electricity and Prohibition V Senthilbalaji asked the BJP MLA to get her facts right before speaking on a subject in the state Assembly. “Excise revenue is the primary source of income for Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and other BJP ruled states. Tamil Nadu is nowhere close to the BJP ruled state. But, a false narrative has been set that TN government is depending on Tasmac revenue,” said the Minister taking a dig at the BJP MLA by pointing out the hooch tragedy in Gujarat state where total prohibition is in force.

The Finance Minister has already made it clear that the price rise of IMFLs shows an increase in the revenue of excise, but the business of Tasmac outlets remains the same, the Minister said and continued that the BJP MLAs and other critics were conveniently forgetting that revenue increased by Rs 16,000 crore during the AIADMK regime.

He further said that the state government has been giving importance to Coimbatore on par with Chennai.

The CM has visited Coimbatore six times since he assumed office to disburse welfare schemes. Reacting to Vanathi’s remark on the high number of widows in the state, Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan said the government has been implementing several schemes for the welfare of the widows.

Measures have been taken to form a welfare board for them.