North Chennai residents urge CM Vijay: Happy with multi-speciality hospital in Perambur; now scrap WtE project too

CHENNAI: The Federation of North Chennai Residents’ Welfare Associations (FNCRWA) are happy with Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who announced the establishment of a Rs 300-crore multi-speciality hospital with 400 beds in Perambur in the Assembly on Wednesday. The CM also announced a five-fold increase in the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance coverage from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.

FNCRWA urged the State government to scrap the proposed waste-to-energy incinerator project, as it posed a severe health and environmental threat to North Chennai.

According to the residents, establishing a multi-speciality hospital in Perambur has been a long-pending core demand of North Chennai residents. They had been consistently insisting on a health care facility by raising the proposal with state ministers, government officials, and relevant departments on several occasions.

FNCRWA President TK Shanmugam said, “The announcement demonstrates how collective community action can successfully bring essential issues to the attention of policymakers, driving tangible change. The State government’s decision is a major milestone for North Chennai.”

Expressing gratitude and appreciation to the State government for prioritising the healthcare needs of the north region, the federation asked the administration to hasten the project forward so that residents could access modern, high-quality, free advanced healthcare services without delay. It also urged the government to address other pressing regional concerns, such as finding a permanent solution to the long-standing Kodungaiyur landfill issue and scrapping the proposed waste-to-energy incinerator project.