Chennai: A Green Tamilnadu Mission will be launched to enhance the total area under the forest and tree cover to 33 per cent of the land area of the State, Finance Minister Palanivel
Thiagarajan told the State Assembly Friday.
Present his maiden budget, he said under the Mission, a massive tree plantation programme of indigenous and diverse species, in co-ordination with multiple departments, public and private
institutions will be taken up with peopleās participation over the next 10 years.
He also said the DMK government will launch the Tamilnadu Climate Change Mission under Chief Minister M K Stalin to focus on climate change adaptation and mitigation activities with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore.
“Special attention will be paid to the modernisation of the forest force by equipping them with modern equipment and technology including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), artificial intelligence, GIS and MIS based management systems, updated weaponry and forest worthy vehicles,” he said.
Thaiagarajan also announced that over the next five years, 10 beaches will be upgraded with the active support of local bodies to achieve the prestigious Blue Flag Certification which mandates higher standards of quality, safety, environmental education and information and safety services.
Apart from setting up Indiaās first Integrated Environment Monitoring Studio for forecasting air quality on a real time basis with an early warning system, the government will also launch the āTamilnadu Wetlands Missionā under the leadership of the Chief Minister with the objective of ecological restoration of wetlands in Tamilnadu.
The mission will identify and map 100 wetlands in five years and restore the ecological balance with focus on livelihood options at a cost of Rs 150 crore.
Road development
The Tamilnadu government will launch the Chief Ministerās Road Development Programme to integrage the road connecivity in the State.
Presenting the budget, Palanivel Thiagarajan said under the progress 2,200 kms of State Highways that connect District Headquarters will be widened to four lane roads and 6,700 kms of single and intermediate lane roads connecting taluk headquarters will be upgraded to double lane highways over the next 10 years.
A total of 59 Municipalities which currently do not have bye-pass roads will be prioritised for the construction of by-pass roads, he said, adding, the overall provision for the Highways Department in the Revised Budget Estimates has been fixed at Rs 17,899.17 crore.