Pre-budget meeting: Rajan seeks funds for rail projects in TN | Latest news from India | So Good News

The successive Union budgets have “always undercut” the railway projects in Tamil Nadu, state finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said during a pre-budget meeting in the capital on Friday with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

“This continuous neglect has resulted in a skewed modal mix in the state. I request adequate funds for railway projects in the state at least in the upcoming Union Budget,” he said.

He also asked for the sanction of six railway projects in the upcoming budget, including Tambaram-Chengalpattu 4th line – ₹NOK 600 million; Attipattu – Gummidipoondi 3rd and 4th line – ₹NOK 500 million; New line from Tirupattur -Krishnagiri-Hosur – ₹1,486 crore; doubling of Arakanom-Kanchipuram Chengalpattu line – ₹NOK 1,360 million; Vande Bharat Trains from Chennai to Madurai and Vande Bharat Trains from Chennai to Coimbatore.

Requesting the Center to reduce duties on imported wood, he said that Tamil Nadu set up the first international furniture park in the country and this (reducing duties) will help attract investment in this important sector.

He raised concerns with the garment sector in general and the clusters in Tiruppur in particular going through a crisis and witnessing a sharp decline in the month-on-month growth rate, as a result of the economic impact of Covid-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and the expected economic downturn in the West in addition to cuts in the workforce. He urged the Union Government to announce a special Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for MSMEs in the apparel sector with 20% additional collateral-free credit in the upcoming budget.

To stimulate economic growth in rural areas, he called for greater investment in agriculture and allied sectors. “To complement the efforts of the State Government in these areas, I request the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister to increase the allocation under ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund’ (RIDF) to NABARD, ‘Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund’ (DIDF) ) and ‘Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund’ (FAIDF) in the upcoming Union Budget,” he said.