30 good news for the people of Tamil Nadu in last 2 years

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P.D.R. Palanivel Thiagarajan has announced 30 significant projects in the State's annual budgets over the past two years. These budgets have helped reduce the revenue deficit of Tamil Nadu, and the State now has a lower revenue deficit than States such as Maharashtra.

During the last regime, the revenue deficit was Rs 62,000 crore while it has now gone down to Rs 30,000 crore due to the revenue reforms implemented by the current government led by DMK's M.K. Stalin.

The 30 announcements

1. One of the most notable announcements from the last year's budget was the introduction of a scholarship scheme for female students. Under this scheme, female students pursuing higher studies in government schools are provided with Rs 1,000 per month directly to their bank accounts.

This scholarship has received a great response from the students and has replaced the existing Muvalur Ramamirtham Marriage Scholarship scheme. The Finance Minister announced this scheme during his budget speech along with several other important announcements.

2. The higher education sector has been allocated Rs 5,568 crore while the school education department has been allocated Rs 36,785 crore. Additionally, an allocation of Rs 200 crore has been made for the Home Search Education scheme.

3. The medical sector in Tamil Nadu has been allocated Rs 17,901 crore with plans to build new headquarter hospitals in 19 districts. An amount of Rs 1,019 crore has been set aside for this purpose.

4. An unprecedented allocation of Rs 4,281.76 crore has been announced for the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department, with plans to build 1,443 houses primarily for black people. A total of Rs 70 crore has been allocated for this.

5. An important notice has been issued in order to prevent annual floods in Chennai and an allocation of Rs 500 crore has been made for flood prevention works in the city. This project is having a significant impact on preventing floods in Chennai.

6. The Environment department has been allocated Rs 849 crore while interest-free crop loans will continue to be provided in the agriculture sector with an allocation of Rs 200 crore for this project. An allocation of Rs 1,315 crore has also been announced for the Animal Husbandry department.

7. Finance Minister Thiagarajan has announced Rs 12 crore for the repair and reconstruction of churches, mosques and dargahs, in addition to temples. He also stated that Rs 100 crore will be allocated for the reconstruction of 1,000-year-old temples and Rs 340.87 crore for the Hindu Religious Charities Department alone.

8. Women will be given a subsidy of Rs 1,520 for free bus travel in the city buses in the State.

9. An allocation of Rs 5 crore has been announced to establish an Industrial Development Corporation in Coimbatore, along with the setting up of new industrial parks in Coimbatore, Vellore and Perambalur.

10. Artefacts discovered in the Tamiraparani basin have been confirmed to be 3,200 years old, providing further evidence of the ancient history of Tamils. The government of Tamil Nadu has announced plans to conduct excavation at seven sites and site inspection at two others in the State.

11. Rs 300 crore have been allocated for the reconstruction of 11 dams while a project to rehabilitate 64 major dams is also underway.

12. The government has earmarked Rs 3,384 crore for the establishment of an irrigation system to ensure better utilization of water resources.

13. The government has allocated Rs 500 crore for the Singhara Chennai 2.0 project and Rs 1,000 crore for the Kalainar Urban Development scheme. A botanical garden will be established near Chennai at a cost of Rs 300 crore in collaboration with London-based Key Gardens.

14. The government plans to restore and complete the Maduravayal-Harbour High Level Road, which will cover a distance of 20 km to Erud. The highway development project will be implemented on both sides of the road for a distance of 62 km from Meenjoor to Vandalur.

15. The government will provide necessary assistance to students who have returned from Ukraine to continue their studies, whether at home or abroad.

16. The government has allocated a total of Rs 12,437 crore for urban development and local bodies. Out of this, Rs 1,000 crore has been specifically earmarked to meet the basic needs of urban local bodies. Additionally, Rs 3,700 crore has been allocated for the Prime Minister's House facility scheme.

17. To improve healthcare infrastructure, the Anna Cancer Hospital in Kanchipuram will be upgraded to a high-quality hospital. The government has also announced the setting up of a community development centre in Attur of Chengalpattu district at a cost of Rs 25 crore.

18. The government has allocated a fund of Rs 2,800 crore for the Hundred Days Employment Scheme, which aims to provide employment opportunities to people in the State. In addition, Rs 2,030 crore has been allocated to build houses for poor people under the Amrut scheme.

19. The Chief Minister's address has helped resolve 10 lakh petitions from the people of Tamil Nadu. To renovate Samatthupurams, an allocation of Rs 190 crore has been made. An additional Rs 2,542 crore has been earmarked for the Integrated Child Care scheme.

20. The government has announced procurement of 500 electric buses and 2,213 diesel buses. Students will benefit from the 'free cycle' scheme, for which Rs 1,062 crore has been allocated. The revolutionary leader Dr. MGR's nutrition scheme has been given a budget allocation of Rs 1,949 crore while the Social Welfare Department has been allocated Rs 5,922.4 crore.

Some of the announcements made in this year's budget

21. In September, FM Thiagarajan plans to launch the Women's Entitlement Scheme, which will provide eligible heads of households with Rs 1,000 per month. The process of compiling the list of beneficiaries is currently underway. With 2.15 crore ration cards in Tamil Nadu, an estimated 1 crore truly impoverished women are expected to benefit from the scheme, excluding government employees, income tax payers and home owners.

22. The estimated cost of Phase II of the Okanagan Combined Water Project is Rs 7,145 crore while a new power generation project will cost Rs 77,000 crore. Additionally, a textile park will be established in Salem at a cost of Rs 880 crore while Rs 50 crore has been set aside for constructing modern facilities like urban public squares, exhibition halls and open-air theatres on 30 acre of land in Chennai Island.

23. The renovation of 500 old buses and the purchase of 1,000 new ones will cost Rs 500 crore. The depots at Vadapalani, Thiruvanmiyur and Vyasarpadi will be upgraded at a cost of Rs 1,600 crore.

24. The Chennai Kodambakkam-Poovindavalli Metro Rail Project is expected to be completed by 2025. The Tamil Nadu budget has allocated Rs 10,000 crore for the Chennai Metro Rail project.

25. A World Investors' Conference costing Rs 100 crore will be held in January next year while new Chipcott Industrial Parks will be established in Virudhunagar, Vellore, Kalakurichi and Coimbatore, creating employment for 22,000 people.

26. The North Chennai Development Project will cost Rs 1,000 crore while 10,000 ponds and water bodies in Tamil Nadu will be cleaned. To rehabilitate the Adyar and Koovam areas, Rs 1,500 crore has been allocated in the Tamil Nadu budget, according to FM Thiagarajan.

27. A 4-lane flyover will be constructed at Annasalai in Chennai at a cost of Rs 621 crore and another 4-lane flyover will be built between Chennai Thenampettai and Saitappettai.

28. Through the Egilmiku and Mamadurai projects, two cities will be developed while a classical park will be established in Coimbatore at a cost of Rs 172 crore. The Coimbatore Metro rail project will cost an estimated Rs 9,000 crore while the Madurai Metro rail project will cost Rs 8,500 crore.

29. A total of Rs 40,299 crore has been allocated to the school education sector. All departmental schools will be transferred to the School Education Department while the schools under the Endowment Department will also be moved to the Education Department.

Additionally, Rs 1,500 crore will be allocated to construct new classrooms and laboratories, and an additional Rs 1,500 crore will be set aside for the Prof. Anbazhagan School Development Project to build new classrooms and laboratories. Due to an increase in enrollment over the past two years, Rs 1,500 crore has also been allocated for building new classrooms.

30. Tamil Nadu plans to expand its breakfast program to 30,122 government primary schools, benefiting 18 lakh students from Classes I to V. The scheme will cost Rs 500 crore and will be implemented from the upcoming academic year.