Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said that the state had sought Rs 600 crore from the Centre to remove nearly 2 lakh tonnes of chromium sludge from the premises of defunct TN Chemicals and Chromates factory at Ranipet. The process of sludge removal would be initiated once the funds were received, he added.

Chief Minister takes a look at the government photo exhibition of various schemes in Vellore

Vellore:

Interacting with reporters on Thursday here he said a detailed project report was under preparation for the linking of the Then Pennai-Palar rivers for a distance of 34 km at a cost of Rs 648 crore.

Referring to the interlinking of national rivers, he said the move affected many states and hence the Union government was recently approached on linking the Godavari and Cauvery rivers and their nod was awaited, he added.

Similarly, the government, based on the representation of Commercial Taxes Minister KC Veeramani, had sanctioned Rs 128 crore to restart work on the Badrapalli dam near Pernambut stalled from 2005 due to various reasons, he said and added that Rs 40 crore had been sanctioned to rehabilitate the huge Kaveripakkam irrigation tank in Ranipet district.

Land acquisition work was underway for the Sholingur –Aroct by pass road and for a similar venture at Gudiyattam, he added.

The Chief Minister inaugurated new government buildings in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts built at an estimated cost of Rs 55.11 crore. He laid the foundation for new buildings costing Rs 73.53 crore and handed over government largesse to 18,589 beneficiaries at an estimated Rs 169.77 crore at Vellore.

Speaking on COVID-19 measures, he said the government was yet to estimate the total loss suffered by state due to the pandemic as factories remained shut. However, the government would ensure that all people oriented schemes continue to benefit residents, he added.

Reeling out statistics about those affected, cured and the dead in state and in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts in particular, he lauded medical personnel for their selfless service during the pandemic. The fever camps run by the state was the reason why the pandemic had been brought under control, he added.

Later in the day, the CM speaking after a COVID-19 review meeting in Dharmapuri said, “As Dharmapuri comes under arid region, the government has proposed to implement ‘Jerthalav’ canal project and Ennekol canal project to improve the ground water storage level.”

Stating that talks are on for acquisition of land for both these projects, the Chief Minister said that after acquisition; funds will be sanctioned for the projects and thereby fulfilling the dream of farmers.