Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to prioritise several major highway projects and allocate sufficient funds for infrastructure development projects, including the expansion of Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail.

During a pre-budget interaction of the State Finance Minister with Sitharaman and Union Finance Ministry officials in New Delhi, Thennarasu expressed concern over the step-brotherly treatment Tamil Nadu has received in the sanctioning of large-scale infrastructure projects.

“I request you to take up more national highway projects in the State of Tamil Nadu. One such project is the construction of an elevated road between Tambaram and Chengalpattu (NH-32) and from Chengalpattu to Tindivanam which needs to be taken up on priority. The stretch in the Chennai-Kanniyakumari Corridor was developed as a four-lane highway by NHAI during 2005. At present, the traffic intensity has increased manifold and the stretch has become vulnerable to road accidents, causing fatalities. “I request the Union Government to sanction this project and allocate adequate funds in the upcoming Budget,” he said.

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Thennarasu also highlighted the under-provisioning of railway projects in Tamil Nadu in successive Union Budgets.

Rail infra

He emphasised the need to strengthen the rail infrastructure in Chennai’s suburban areas to support the growing population and called for new railway lines in industrial areas to spur economic development. He requested funds for five specific railway projects: the fourth line between Tambaram and Chengalpattu, the Tiruppathur-Krishnagiri-Hosur new line, the Madurai-Thoothukudi line via Aruppukkottai, the Minjur-Tiruvallur-Sriperumpudur-Oragadam-Singaperumalkoil-Maduranthagam line and the Semi-High Speed Railway Corridor connecting Chennai-Salem-Coimbatore with extensions to Salem-Hosur-Bengaluru and Coimbatore-Ernakulam.

The delay in approving Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail is severely impacting State finances and slowing the project’s implementation, causing hardships for Chennai residents, Thennarasu said. Although recommended by the Public Investment Board on August 17, 2021, the project has been awaiting approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for three years. Pending this approval, the State has been funding the project entirely from its own resources. Thennarasu urged the Centre to sanction the project and ensure adequate provisions in the Union Budget 2024-25.

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Additionally, Thennarasu requested ₹3,000 crore in disaster relief funds for Tamil Nadu in the upcoming budget to address restoration needs following two major natural disasters last year that strained State finances.

He reiterated the State’s request to merge cesses and surcharges into the basic tax rates to ensure States receive their fair share of revenue. Thennarasu also called on the Centre to contribute at least 50 per cent to Centrally Sponsored Schemes. He further urged the Centre to exclude loans taken by State governments to cover Discom losses from the calculation of fiscal deficit and borrowing ceilings, similar to the UDAY scheme of 2015.

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