Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and presented a Memorandum containing 23 crucial issues relating to the State which require urgent attention of the Government of India and are important to safeguard the legitimate interests of the State and to propel the State on to a faster growth trajectory.

The Chief Minister then briefed the Prime Minister on the prevailing drought situation in Tamil Nadu. He highlighted that the Tamil Nadu Government had already presented a Memorandum seeking Rs. 39,565 crore funding for drought relief and rehabilitation measures. A Central Team had also visited Tamil Nadu from January 21st to 24th, 2017 for an on-the-spot assessment.

Palaniswami requested that funds may be released to Tamil Nadu at the earliest as it had already incurred Rs. 2,944 crore out of its own funds, including the State Disaster Response Fund of Rs.713 crore.

In the context of the drought situation, the CM also requested the PM to direct the insurance companies to ensure that the insurance claims on crop losses are paid out within three weeks of submitting the yield estimates, based on crop cutting experiments.

The CM emphasised that Tamil Nadu has a fair and transparent admission policy for medical colleges. The imposition of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) would cause grave injustice to students from rural areas and hence approval for Tamil Nadu’s Bills seeking exemption from NEET may be accorded so that the Presidential Assent could be obtained at the earliest.

Palaniswami indicated that a most pressing issue is the immediate constitution of the Cauvery Management Board in accordance with the Final Order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

The Memorandum also highlighted the concerns about Karnataka’s Mekedatu Scheme, the construction of dams by Kerala across Pambar and Bhavani rivers which are part of the Cauvery basin, the restoration of water level to FRL of 152 ft in the Mullai Periyar Dam, inter-linking of rivers, and approval and funding for the Athikadavu – Avinashi Scheme.

Protection of the traditional fishing rights of Indian fishermen in the Palk Bay and ensuring their safety and security, retrieval of Katchatheevu Island, and early sanction of the Comprehensive Special Package for Diversification of Fisheries were also raised.

The Chief Minister sought Modi’s assistance for reviving the Electronic Manufacturing Hub at Sriperumbudur by resolving the issues relating to the Nokia plant. The realignment of the proposed Kochi-Bengaluru GAIL Pipeline, and objections to the proposed privatisation of Salem Steel Plant were raised.

In addition, the Sri Lankan Tamils issue and granting of dual citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees living in Tamil Nadu was raised. Adoption of Tamil as an Official Language of the Union and use of Tamil in the High Court of Madras were also requested.

Palaniswami brought the issue of exploration of Hydrocarbons in Neduvasal village of Pudukkottai District to the notice of the Prime Minister. The CM requested Modi to kindly instruct the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas to take any further action in this regard only after adequate consultation with stakeholders and ensuring that the interests of the farmers are fully safeguarded.

It will not be advisable for ONGC to proceed with any mining activity in Neduvasal village without clearance from the State Government, Palaniswami said.