The Tamil Nadu Government would 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 welfare schemes, State Governor K. Rosaiah said here today.

“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 said.

Addressing the fifteenth Legislative Assembly, a new granite policy would also be framed and the same of beach minerals would be undertaken directly by the Government to further augment its resources.

The Government was committed to improving transparency in administration and would establish the institution of Lokayukta in Tamil Nadu through appropriate enactment, once the proposed amendments to the Lokpal Act was enacted by the Parliament.

The State, while working with the Centre for the overall development of the State, would continue to insist on fair and adequate sharing of financial resources between the Centre and the states.

On the Cauvery issue, Rosaiah said the Government would pursue 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 the effective implementation of the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

The Government was 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,” the Governor said.

On the roads sector, Rosaiah said the Comprehensive Road Infrastructure Development Programme (CRIDP) and the Performance Based Maintenance Contract system would continue to improve the standard of roads.

The World Bank assisted ‘Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project – II’ with an outlay of Rs. 5,171 crores, which was under implementation, would give a further boost to the road infrastructure in the State.

“The work for establishing two more desalination plants near Chennai, with the capacity of 150 million litres per day (MLD) at Nemmeli and 400 MLD at Perur would be expedited,” the Governor said.

According to Rosaiah, the Government would give priority for 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 mode,” he said.