Release Rs 2,168 crore performance grant, Centre urged

In a demi-official letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Velumani said the people of Tamil Nadu will benefit if the grants are released at the earliest.

“An amount of Rs 560.15 crore is due for both urban and rural local bodies in the State towards the Performance Grant for the year 2017-18. Also, an amount of Rs 1,608.03 crore is due for both urban and rural local bodies as the first instalment of the 14th Central Finance Commission basic grant for the 2018-19. These amounts may be released to the State so as to benefit the public. The State will give priorities and support all endeavours of government of India towards building a strong, modern and vibrant India,” the letter read.

Earlier in the day, Velumani called on Union Minister for Rural Development Narendra Singh Tomar and demanded the early release of Rs 758.06 crore as second instalment of the basic grant towards the Central Finance Commission (2017-18) sanction for TN civic bodies. Velumani also reminded that an amount of Rs 876.94 crore is due for rural local bodies.

Meanwhile, in a memorandum to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Electricity Minister P Thangamani urged the Centre to include Coimbatore in the list of cities, which are being selected for development as World Class Cities. Thangamani urged the Centre to consider Coimbatore for development projects. “Tamil Nadu is always at the forefront in the execution of development schemes with many initiatives and innovations under urban and rural development and it is also known for complying with the directives of the Union government on a priority basis. As Coimbatore is one of the fastest-growing tier-II cities in India and a major industrial hub in South India, I request that the proposed Mumbai–Bengaluru industrial corridor by the Centre be extended up to Coimbatore,” it read. 

Both the projects are being handled by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. I hope your intervention on the above issues would certainly work out positively towards the inclusion of Coimbatore in the above projects, the letter added.