Vijay seeks ₹5,110 crore and project approvals from Centre

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay used an event attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Chennai on October 11 to request the release of ₹5,110 crore in pending central education funds and approvals for transport and water projects. The requests were made during a visit at which Modi inaugurated and launched infrastructure projects in the state; the reports do not describe a response from the Union government. Vijay asked the Centre to release the ₹5,110 crore described as Tamil Nadu’s pending central share under the Samagra Shiksha scheme without conditions. The amount and the request were reported as part of his remarks at the event. The supplied accounts do not include a separate payment record or confirmation of the funds’ status. On transport, Vijay sought expedited approval for Chennai Metro Phase III, described as approximately 65 kilometres across three proposed corridors: Chennai Airport to Kilambakkam, Poonamallee to Sunguvarchatram and Koyambedu to Pattabiram. He also asked the Centre to reconsider proposed metro systems for Coimbatore and Madurai, and to approve an interstate metro link between Hosur in Tamil Nadu and Bommasandra in Karnataka.