Tamil Nadu unveils ₹1,850-crore urban road repair and infrastructure plan
CM announces ₹1,850-crore urban package for road repairs, modern streets, schools, water supply, parks, and waste-to-energy plants.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay announced a ₹1,850-crore project in the Assembly on Wednesday to repair roads across Chennai and other urban local bodies. The roads had been damaged during the laying of drinking water and underground sewerage lines.
Under the Vetri Tamilagam Vision, 35 km of roads spanning 45 sq. km. in Chennai will be redeveloped as People-Friendly Modern Streets with footpaths. The plan also includes creating safe access to schools along 15 km of roads and improving 105 road junctions under the Traffic Islands Improvement Programme, at a cost of ₹110 crore. Similar projects in other municipal corporations will receive ₹165 crore.
The government will also invest ₹335 crore in new classrooms and modern facilities for schools run by urban local bodies.
To boost green cover, the Chief Minister announced a drive to plant one crore tree saplings across cities, describing it as a people's movement.
A separate ₹1,000-crore package will improve drinking water supply in Madurai and Cuddalore municipal corporations, nine municipalities, and 30 town panchayats. Additionally, 33 combined drinking water supply projects will be implemented at a cost of ₹300 crore.
Waste-to-energy projects were announced for Tirunelveli and Salem municipal corporations. The Tirunelveli plant will generate 9 MW of electricity at a cost of ₹256 crore, while the Salem facility will have a 10 MW capacity with an investment of ₹291 crore.
The government also plans major parks in Tiruchi, Tiruppur, and Pudukkottai at a cost of ₹130 crore, along with 250 new parks across the state for ₹175 crore.