A Rs 1,000-crore infrastructure project, a state-of-the-art “global sports city” and initiatives to clean and restore waterways including the Adyar and the Cooum are among a slew of measures announced for Chennai in the 2023-24 budget that Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented on Monday.
The DMK government will implement the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore over the next three years to ensure balanced and equitable development of the city. Under this scheme, action will be taken to identify and address the infrastructure deficit and gaps in development.
A “global sports city” will be set up by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). Rs 25 crore has been allotted for upgradation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. The CMDA will also develop 30 acres of land in Island Grounds with modern amenities such as an urban plaza, exhibition pavilions, landscaping, open-air theatre and food courts at a cost of Rs 50 crore.
The Chennai Sangamam cultural programme, which became a huge hit in the city, is set to be expanded to eight other major cities in the state in next year. So will be the Chennai International Book Fair, which was organised in January with participation from 24 countries.
As part of its initiatives under the Singara Chennai scheme, the government aims to clean and restore waterways including Adyar and Cooum. As the first phase, the restoration of the Adyar river for a length of 44 km is set to be taken up. The project will include river cleaning activities such as prevention of sewage from entering the river and the construction of sewage treatment plants. Attractive recreational facilities such as aesthetic parks, green walkways, open-air gymnasium and quality cafeterias will dot the banks of Adyar river, the minister said. This project is proposed to be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore through public-private partnership.
To honour the legacy of Tamil martyrs Thiruvalargal Thalamuthu and Natarajan, a memorial will be established at Chennai.
To improve the quality of living in the resettlement habitations constructed by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, sports-cum-recreation centres with sports facilities, modern gymnasiums, multipurpose community halls to conduct vocational training and libraries will be developed. Four such centres will be developed next year at Kannagi Nagar, Perumbakkam, Navalur and Athipattu at a cost of Rs 20 crore.
The minister said that Rs 10,000 crore had been allotted to the Chennai Metro Rail project
Further, allocations of Rs 1,847 crore towards the Chennai Peripheral Ring Road project, Rs 1,500 crore for the Chennai-Kanniyakumari Industrial Corridor Project and Rs 645 crore towards Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project-II have been made in the budget.
Bus depots at Vadapalani, Thiruvanmiyur and Vyasarpadi are set to be developed with an investment of Rs 1,600 crore. In the second phase, three more bus depots at Tambaram, Tiruvottiyur and Saidapet will be upgraded with an investment of Rs 1,347 crore.