Chennai: Tamilnadu Ministers Wednesday sought Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s intervention to get the Centre to release Rs 3,776.20 crore pending grants under the 14th Central Finance Commission ‘to carry out day to day affairs and provide basic amenities to citizens.’
Electricity minister P Thangamani and Municipal administration minister S P Velumani called on the Defence minister in the national capital with this request.
According to the letter signed by Velumani, a copy of which was released to the media, the Centre had already released Rs 1,390.04 crore as second instalment of basic grant of the 14th Central Finance Commission for 2017-18 for urban and rural local bodies of Tamilnadu.
“The release of this grant by Government of India, based on your support and intervention, has paved the way for providing quality services to the people and helped the local bodies in discharging their basic duties,” Velumani said.
He also brought to her notice that under the 14th Central Finance Commission, Rs 560.15 crore was due to Tamilnadu towards performance grant for the 2017-18 and Rs 3,216.05 crore was outstanding towards basic grant for 2018-19.
Noting that the local bodies in the State were in dire need of funds to carry out day to day affairs, he requested Sitharaman’s intervention in the matter. “The Government of Tamilnadu will always give priorities and support all endeavours of Government of India towards building a strong, modern and vibrant India. I, once again thank you for always supporting the cause of Tamilnadu,” he said.