Govt will continue welfare schemes, to add 13,000 Mw of thermal power: TN Governor

The government of Tamil Nadu, which has received the mandate to rule the state for the second consecutive term of the Assembly, will continue with the various welfare and development measures adapted in its previous tenure, according to Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah.

In the power sector, which has seen a turnaround story with the State becoming power surplus in the last five years, the government will add an additional 13,000 Mw of thermal power and 3,000 Mw of solar energy capacity in the next five years, he said.

"This government will ensure that the state continues to be free of power-cuts and provide uninterrupted quality power. In the next five years, new power generation capacity of 13,000 Mw of thermal power and 3,000 Mw of solar energy will be added," said the Governor in his inaugural address in the first session of the 15th Legislative Assembly. Further, the ongoing power projects will be expeditiously commissioned to augment the State's power generation capacity.

The state government will expedite the work relating to Phase-I of Chennai Metro Rail and commence services in the entire network before the end of 2017, he said. The Metro Rail, which is currently operating passenger services between Koyambedu and Alandur, services on the stretch from Little Mount to Airport and from Alandur to St Thomas Mount, will be inaugurated soon.

With sustained efforts, the state government was able to secure the central government's approval for the extension of Corridor-I of the Metro Rail line from Washermenpet to Tiruvotriyur / Wimco Nagar at a cost of Rs 3,770 crore and the work will be commenced immediately. The government will take up implementation of Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail Project at the earliest, he added.

The World Bank assisted 'Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project-II' with an outlay of Rs 5,171 crore, which is under implementation, will give a further boost to road infrastructure in the State.

The government is committed to improving transparency in administration, and will establish the institution of Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu through appropriate enactment, once the proposed amendments to the Lokpal Act are enacted by the Parliament

The government will continue with various welfare schemes and price control measures which it had started in the previous tenure, including the 'Farm Fresh Outlets', 'Amma Marundhagams', 'Amma Unavagams', 'Amma Drinking Water', 'Amma Cement' and 'Amma Salt' and 'Amma Call Centre'. The grievance redressal mechanism, responding to public calls round the clock, will be further strengthened.

As a measure to improve market linkages and realise better prices for farm produce, the state government will take steps to integrate and computerise the regulated and co-operative agricultural markets on electronic platforms, facilitating their eventual linkage with the national commodities markets.

The Tamil Nadu Vision 2023 will continue to be the agenda for this government, which is committed to securing for the people of Tamil Nadu a greatly improved quality of life. For the first time in the country, a comprehensive and focused institutional and financing mechanism has been established. With this, the pace of implementation of projects will be substantially stepped up, said the Governor.

He added that resource distribution is skewed in favour of the Centre, while the state has to shoulder more responsibilities without matching resources. "Therefore, while working with the central government for the overall development of the state, this government will continue to insist on fair and adequate sharing of financial resources between the Centre and the States," he added.

Against the backdrop of the recent floods in Chennai, the government will expeditiously prepare Comprehensive Flood Protection Plans for Chennai City and vulnerable coastal districts in the state to permanently mitigate the impact of floods, he said.