While the trade and industry in western part of Tamil Nadu hailed the Budget announcements, those in the southern parts felt a neglected lot.
S Rethinavelu, Senior President of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Madurai, said “it is distressing to note that there is no mention of any scheme in the Budget to trigger industrial and economic growth in southern Tamil Nadu.”
“The Budget is also silent on the demands of the people in the southern districts — operation of direct flights to Madurai by airliners based in foreign countries and setting up of AIIMS Hospital at Thoppur in Madurai district. “There should be sufficient water resources in the state for successful implementation of all such projects. It is estimated that around 177 tmc water is drained into the sea every year. If this enormous wastage of water can be stopped, preserved and directed to drought hit pockets as also facilitate water way transport in the state, it would benefit the citizens,” he said.
Hailing the proposals, KK Rajan, President of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association, said the government should consider establishing a Skill Development Centre in Coimbatore for imparting training to youth. “Disbursement of ₹7,000 crore to agriculturists through cooperative banks is a thoughtful gesture. This is likely to increase the requirement of pumpsets in the State” he said.
The association has requested the government to consider setting up new industrial estates in Coimbatore and form commercial complexes exclusively for the MSMEs.
Vanitha Mohan, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, said allocation of ₹532 crore for the MSME sector would go a long way in pulling the sector out from the quagmire caused by demonetisation. The long-pending plea of the people of Avinashi would be fulfilled with the provision of ₹250 crore for the Athikadavu–Avinashi link project.
Terming it as a growth-oriented Budget, S Narayanan, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry, Coimbatore zone, thanked the government for considering many of its recommendations, especially in the areas of infrastructure development.
Increased support to farmer-producer organisations could be a potential game changer if implemented well, based on clusters and more impetus given to backward integration and food processing policy, he said.