Thennarasu Asks Nirmala Sitharaman To Release Metro Rail Funds

 Chennai: Strongly refuting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s claim that the ongoing second phase of the Chennai Metro Rail project was a ‘State Sector Project,’ State Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu clarified that the scheme was envisaged in 2017 as a ‘Central Sector Project,’ under which the Union Government’s share worked out to Rs 7,425 crore.

Speaking to the media in Coimbatore on Thursday, Sitharaman had said that for the second phase of Metro Rail scheme the Union Government had arranged for a loan of Rs 21,000 crore and that the State government had only spent 5,880 crore in executing the project.

All that was denied by Thennarasu in a statement on Friday. He said the State government had already spent Rs 11,762 crore of its own funds for the project on which a total amount of Rs 18,564 crore had been expended so far.

Demanding that the Union Government released its share of Rs 7,425 crore by recognizing the scheme as a Central Sector Project as recommended by the Public Investment Board (PIB) in 2021, he said the second phase of Chennai Metro Rail was the biggest project of it kind in India as it envisaged three routes totally running for 119 km.

The detailed plan submitted to the Union Government envisaged the State and Union Governments sharing the expenses 50:50 with the total outlay worked out to Rs 62,246 crore based on the valuation by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs department, he said.

Since the State government started the project with its own funds in 2018 even as the Union Government was studying the proposal because the Japanese financial agency, JICA, wanted the work on the project to be launched immediately, Sitaraman was trying to erroneously portray it as a State Sector Project, he said

The Union Government had been giving a step motherly treatment to Tamil Nadu by not releasing the funds due to it, while funds were allocated for Metro Rail schemes in other cities like Bengaluru (Rs 30,399 crore), Kochi (Rs 1957 crore), Nagpur (Rs 6708 crore), Pune (Rs 910 crore) and Thane (Rs 12,200 crore), he said.

Chennai was ignored in the fund allocation though the Union Budget of 2020-21 had mentioned Chennai as a city that would have a Metro Rail along with Kochi, Bengaluru, Nagpur and Nainital, he said.

Pointing out that the Union Budget for 2024-25 left out Tamil Nadu for funds and Equity and Subordinate Debt allocation, while States like Maharashtra, New Delhi, Gujarat and Karnataka received their dues, Thennarasu said the deliberate neglect of Chennai was aimed at slackening the other people oriented projects by putting the State government in a difficult position as for revenue was concerned.