Chennai, June 16 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu government will add new thermal power generation capacity of 13,000 MW and 3,000 MW of solar power over the next five years while continuing with many of its freebie welfare schemes, Governor K. Rosaiah said on Thursday.
He also said a new granite policy will be framed by the government and the sale of beach minerals will be undertaken directly by the government to further augment its resources.
Delivering the inaugural address at the first session of the Fifteenth Legislative Assembly, Rosaiah said: "This Government will ensure that the state continues to be free of power-cuts and provide uninterrupted quality power. In the next five years, new power generation capacity of 13,000 MW of thermal power and 3,000 MW of solar energy will be added."
He further said the ongoing power projects will be expeditiously commissioned to augment the state's power generation capacity.
Rosaiah said the government is committed to improving transparency in administration, and will establish the institution of Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu through appropriate enactment, once the proposed amendments to the Lokpal Act are enacted by the Parliament.
He said the state government while working with the central government for the overall development of the state, will continue to insist on fair and adequate sharing of financial resources between the centre and the states.
On the issue of securing the state's rights over the Cauvery river water he said the government will take action to obtain an order from the Supreme Court for the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee by the Government of India for effective implementation of the Final Order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.
He also said the state government is determined to raise the water level to its full reservoir level of 152 ft at Mullaperiyar Dam in Kerala and also implement effective water management measures in the state.
"This government will expeditiously prepare comprehensive flood protection plans for Chennai city and vulnerable coastal districts in the state to permanently mitigate the impact of floods," Rosaiah said.
On the roads sector Rosaiah said to improve the standard of roads, the 'Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme' (CRIDP) and the 'Performance Based Maintenance Contract' (PBMC) system will continue.
The World Bank assisted 'Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project-II' with an outlay of Rs 5,171 crore, which is under implementation, will give a further boost to the road infrastructure in the state, he said.
"The work for establishing two more desalination plants near Chennai, with a capacity of 150 million litres per day (MLD) at Nemmeli and 400 MLD at Perur will be expedited," he added.
According to him, the government will give priority to industrial corridor based development, particularly on the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and the Madurai-Thoothukudi Industrial Corridor.
"As part of the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor project, Ponneri will be developed as a vibrant industrial node," he said.