Tamil Nadu govt seeks govt help to clear hurdles in airports expansion

The Tamil Nadu government has urged the central government to clear the hurdles faced during the four airports expansion and declare Madurai airport as an international airport, followed by land acquisition and transfer to the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, had requested the government to formulate a data-sharing protocol, allowing the states to access data like income tax, Aadhar, Covid-19, among others.

According to an official, the Minister sought the cooperation of the Centre to resolve the restrictions faced during the expansion of four major airports, including Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirappalli and Tuticorin.

Rajan informed Sitharaman that the land acquisition and the transfer of Madurai Airport to AAI had been completed, and the Union government has decided to declare it as an international airport to facilitate trade and flight routes to the region.

The Ministry of Finance requested the government to formulate data to supplement the efforts of the state towards data-driven administration. He added that the price reduction of petrol and diesel had provided an opportunity to conduct a case study to analyse the impact of price on the elasticity of demand and supply and growth.

Rajan has requested the government to ensure an adequate supply of coal and help in the access to supplies of Chandrabali Coal Block, Odisha. He also focused on the wind energy potential of the state and urged the government to formulate a viable offshore wind development policy to provide an impetus to renewable energy. He added that the VO Chidambaranar Port, Tuticorin, could become a transhipment hub and expects to take up a master plan for its expansion soon.

He said that the economy of Tamil Nadu has been resilient despite the Covid-19 pandemic. CM M K Stalin presided over two investment conclaves, the companies committed to invest Rs 21,021 crore by signing 50 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government, providing one lakh job opportunities.

The Ministry of Finance urged the Centre to announce a comprehensive plan to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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