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Pre-Budget meet: Rajan seeks funds for railway projects in TN
“This continuous neglect has resulted in a skewed modal mix in the state. I request adequate fund allocation for railway projects in the state at least in the upcoming Union Budget,” he said.
The successive Union Budgets have “always under provided” for the railway projects in Tamil Nadu, said state finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan during a pre-Budget meeting in the national capital on Friday with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
“This continuous neglect has resulted in a skewed modal mix in the state. I request adequate fund allocation for railway projects in the state at least in the upcoming Union Budget,” he said.
He also requested a sanction of six railway projects in the upcoming Budget, including Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4th line - ₹600 crore; Attipattu - Gummidipoondi 3rd and 4th lines - ₹500 crore; New line from Tirupattur -Krishnagiri-Hosur - ₹1,486 crore; doubling of Arakanom-Kanchipuram Chengalpattu line - ₹1,360 crore; Vande Bharat Train from Chennai to Madurai and Vande Bharat Train from Chennai to Coimbatore.
Requesting the Centre to reduce the duties on imported wood, he said that Tamil Nadu set up the first International Furniture Park in the country and this (reducing the duties) will help in attracting investment in this important sector.
He raised concerns with the garment sector in general and the clusters in Tiruppur in particular which are going through a crisis and witnessing a sharp decline in the month-on-month growth rate, as a result of the economic impact of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and the anticipated economic slowdown in the West besides cut in the workforce. He urged the Union government to announce a special Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSMEs in the garment sector with 20% additional collateral-free credit in the upcoming budget.
In order to spur economic growth in the rural areas, he called for greater investment in agriculture and allied sectors. “To complement the efforts of the state government in these areas, I request the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister to enhance the allocation under ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund’ (RIDF) of NABARD, the ‘Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund’ (DIDF) and ‘Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund’ (FAIDF) in the upcoming Union Budget,” he said.
