‘Highway not for any individual’s benefit’
CHENNAI:TAMIL Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Saturday that the Centre has agreed to allocate funds for 40 major roads in the state.
These roads will soon be elevated as national highways, he said, and termed the present time as “a golden period for Tamil Nadu as the state is witnessing huge funding from the Centre”.
Palaniswami also denied charges that the Salem-chennai expressway project was meant to benefit private miners, and termed it someone’s “figment of imagination” to bring disgrace to the AIADMK government.
“The project is not meant for the benefit of any individual but for the overall development of Tamil Nadu,” he told reporters at Salem Airport. He said some people out of “political vendetta” were trying to stop the ~10,000crore eight-lane project by “provoking people.”
Palaniswami said that the green corridor project, upon completion, will transform the western Tamil Nadu, and road accidents and fuel consumption will come down, he claimed. Not only Salem, but the nearby districts of Erode, Karur and Coimbatore would also progress industrially, once the road is laid, he noted.
Stating that the road was a central government project and the state was assisting in its implementation, the CM also urged the farmers not to fear about losing their livelihood, as the state will adequately compensate those who give land for the new project.
When asked why the land acquisition was being done forcefully, the CM shot back, saying that the police officers were just “assisting the revenue officials” and said that no case has been registered against the farmers.
Meanwhile the state officials have pressed drones in action, fearing protests and suicide threats, in Dharmapuri and Salem areas. The images will be used to fine tune the enumeration process and ‘land measurement’ works are almost over, state revenue department officials said.
In a related development, activist Piyush Manush, arrested by the police, said he would approach the court for justice.