As usual, the Budget presented by Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu in the Assembly on Monday has gone silent for the third time in the last three years about the revival of the Nanguneri Special Economic Zone even though this project was launched in 2001 by the late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, father of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.
After the 2,600 acres of land acquired for one of the two first SEZs of the country at Nanguneri has been pledged for raising loan to the tune of ₹ 865 crore by the promoter, there is literally no infrastructure development inside the advantageously situated SEZ.
Consequently, the small and medium manufacturing units now functioning from this infrastructure-starved campus are struggling to keep afloat for the past several years even as no investor is ready to even visit this premises for possible investment.
Unfortunately, the DMK government, which organised recently the Global Investors Meet (GIM 2024) with much fanfare, is also apparently not interested in reviving this SEZ even though it was the brainchild of Karunanidhi.
And, this inexplicable and agonising silence continues in the State Budget presented on Monday also.
“This is not a good sign for the investors looking for investments in southern Tamil Nadu. The government, after retrieving mortgaged the SEZ land, should offer a slew of incentives, including slashed price of the land for attracting investments. If not, it will shake the trust the investors have on this government,” said a leading industrialist from a southern district.
While the Budget has claimed to get Blue Flag Certification for a few beaches, including Kodavilai beach in Tirunelveli district and Kaayalpattinam beach near Tiruchendur, by controlling plastic pollution and the allocation of ₹ 450 crore for coastal protection measures, there is no allocation of funds for upgrading the Tharuvaikulam Fish Landing Centre into fullfledged fishing harbor with modern facilities as promised by the Minister for Fisheries Anita R. Radhakrishnan.
“This is nothing but betrayal which will have its repercussions during upcoming Parliamentary elections,” the Tharuvaikulam fishermen warn. The proposal for Tamirabharani riverfront development may be a good idea as it may promote river restoration with open-air stadia and riverside parks which may avert the river bank from being encroached upon and polluted.
“This announcement should be transformed into action for saving the only perennial river of Tamil Nadu,” said Samy Nallaperumal of ‘Nam Tamirabharani Iyakkam’.
Since the Corporations of Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Nagercoil have proposed to give 24 X 7 drinking water supply to the residents through metered drinking water connections, consumers will have to pay more for the quantum of drinking water they draw every month instead of ₹ 100 per connection being paid now, the Corporation officials here say.
Another announcement that has triggered jubilation among the small, tiny and medium fabricators is the creation of ‘Space Industrial and Propellant Park’ by TIDCO on 2,000 acres near the proposed spaceport near Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district.
