Tamil Nadu News Papers

White Paper on Aug. 9, first e-Budget on Aug. 13

Thursday, 05 August 2021 04:42

The Hindu 05.08.2021

White Paper on Aug. 9, first e-Budget on Aug. 13

An upgrade: All-in-one desktop personal computers have been installed on the desks of legislators at the makeshift Assembly hall in Kalaivanar Arangam. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam

State’s finances worse than we thought: Minister

The Assembly will witness its first paperless Budget session, with Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan set to present the revised Budget for 2020-21 on August 13. Ahead of this, Mr. Rajan will release a White Paper on the State’s finances on August 9.

“The situation is worse than what the previous releases have shown,” Mr. Rajan told The Hindu on Wednesday. “This [White Paper] is something that I was committed to, and I am fulfilling it. I wanted it to be as comprehensive as possible. It is 10 years’ worth of mismanagement. Before we go to the Budget, it is good that the people of the State understand what is the true state of affairs,” he said.

The White Paper, likely to be of 120 pages, will focus on the State’s debt burden and the finances of the Electricity, Local Bodies, Water Resources and Transport Departments, among others.

The Minister said it took a long time to get the data together due to the pandemic. “It is important that what we put out is accurate. I am not saying it is comprehensive. We might need to do a few more things like White Papers on GIM-1 [Global Investors Meet] and GIM-2 and Rule-110 announcements. Right now, it [White Paper] is a limited context on what is the true financial situation of the State,” he said.

He said once the White Paper was put out in the public domain, other questions might arise and more clarifications sought. Based on these, the Chief Minister might want to resolve issues raised when the DMK was in the Opposition, he added.

Paperless Budget

A notification issued by Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Wednesday said the House would be convened at 10 a.m. on August 13. In February, the then Finance Minister, O. Panneerselvam, had presented the interim Budget for the year, ahead of the Assembly election.

The Budget, including the full session with the demand for grants of all departments, will be paperless. The Assembly Secretariat has already installed all-in-one desktop personal computers on the desks of the legislators at the makeshift Assembly hall in Kalaivanar Arangam to facilitate the reading of the Budget as it is presented.

The MLAs will also be provided with a tablet, the Budget papers and the demand for grants books five minutes after the Budget is tabled in the Assembly.

Sources in the Assembly Secretariat told The Hindu that a special software would be used to ensure that the e-Budget proceedings go smoothly. This is being done in coordination with the Information Technology Department, the National Informatics Centre and ELCOT.

“We conducted a drill yesterday [Tuesday] and it worked well,” a source said.

The first agriculture Budget will be presented on August 14, the Additional Chief Secretary, Finance Department, said.

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 August 2021 05:40

Chennai makeover gathers pace as civic body steps on the pedal

Monday, 02 August 2021 00:00

The Times of India 02.08.2021

Chennai makeover gathers pace as civic body steps on the pedal

Anna Nagar roundabout junction renovated with a tower lock and fountains

CHENNAI: The cash-strapped Greater Chennai Corporation is on a beautifying spree under the ‘Singara Chennai 2.0’ programme that will be unveiled later by chief minister M K Stalin.

At least nine different projects including the mass cleaning drive that began nine weeks ago and has so far removed 17,500 tonnes of garbage and debris have been taken up.

About 77,000 posters have been removed from walls at 2,100 locations and artwork and painting of walls projects ordered on three stretches. About 300 public toilets have been cleaned. Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi goes on regular inspections, ordering zonal engineers to plant flowering plants on the pavements and road sides. A total of 99 medians and traffic islands will sport fountains, plants, art work and statues made out of scrap. New parks are being planned, too.

Comprehensive meetings are held every week with zonal officials and regional deputy commissioners to finalize ideas to beautify major junctions such as Madhya Kailash and city square. Powerpoint presentations are being made for each zone on how major streets and junctions can be beautified including by setting up water ponds, fountains and colourful lights.

Unlike earlier, when just one stretch like Pondy Bazaar was chosen for beautification, the civic body wants to give the entire city an aesthetic look. About 15 statues made of scrap have been placed at prominent places like the Kathipara flyover, Indira Nagar, Besant Nagar and the Marina.

Since end-May, when the mass cleaning programme – the chief minister’s dream project – was taken up, workers have been diligently at work in slums and on roads and pavements. Posters are going from walls and the plan is to adorn them with artwork, but funding is a problem. “We are looking to tie up with major IT companies and other industries for CSR funds,” said chief engineer (roads), S Rajendiran.

As part of the plan to bring colour to streets including beautifying 99 medians, residential welfare associations are being roped in. Regional deputy commissioners and zonal officials have held meetings to find people who can fund, repair and maintain them. “It has to be a citizen centric movement. We will allow them to set up boards or advertise,” said RDC (central) Sharanya Ari. In the next two weeks, work on revamping at least 30 junctions/traffic islands in each region on the lines of the Anna Nagar Roundabout will begin.

The ultimate aim, says Bedi, is to change the look and feel of the city. “When people ride or drive around, they should be able to see the greenery, artwork and experience beauty. More projects including renovating parks and setting up new ones will be taken up. Once it is finalized, we will share all details,” he said.

Corporation plans three bridges in congested areas

Thursday, 29 July 2021 00:00

The Hindu 29.07.2021

Corporation plans three bridges in congested areas

Deluge of problems: An overbridge in place of the Ganesapuram subway has been a long-pending demand of citizens. | Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B

Usman Road flyover may be extended up to Anna Salai

The Greater Chennai Corporation plans to construct three new bridges in the city. The bridges department, which had executed only a handful of projects in the last 10 years under the AIADMK government, has proposed to build bridges which had been pending for a long time to ease traffic congestion.

A senior official said as the city had expanded, more bridges were needed in congested old areas. Bridges were planned to be built at the Ganesapuram subway and the crowded Otteri junction. Plans were on to extend the flyover on Usman Road to be linked to Anna Salai.

The civic body has done an initial study and has found the need for the flyover at Usman Road to be extended till Anna Salai as the T. Nagar junction had been witnessing heavy traffic.

Since T. Nagar had transformed into shopping hub from a residential locality, the South Usman Road was becoming congested due to the presence of several textile showrooms. Also, the location of the T. Nagar bus terminus near the junction added to the problems.

Despite the flyover South Usman Road, traffic jams occurred on Madley Road, CIT Nagar 1st Main Road, and CIT Nagar 4th Main Road. The civic body had designed a new flyover to link the ramp portion of the existing flyover on South Usman Road, which is 747 m long and 11 m wide, and proceeded above the CIT Nagar 1st and 4th Main Road junctions. Also provision for two ramps was to be made for motorists to have smooth access to the Burkit Road junction.

The civic body plans to build two-lane carriageways at Konnur High Road and Strahans Road junction to ease traffic congestion on Strahans Road, Brickiln Road and Cooks Road. The proposed flyover would be 540 m long and would have a service road and pavement on both sides. Similarly, the residents of Perambur and Vyasarpadi had been demanding a bridge to replace the Ganesapuram subway, which got waterlogged during heavy rain.

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