DMK president M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said the proposed conversion of the Maduravoyal-Port Expressway into a two-tier project would undermine its foundation and further delay its construction.
Addressing a demonstration organised by his party against its conversion, Mr. Stalin said the foundation stone for the expressway was laid during the erstwhile DMK regime with an allocation of ₹1,815 crore to facilitate the free flow of heavy vehicles to the Chennai port.
Mr. Stalin said even though former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa put on hold the project, subsequent studies clearly found the reasons cited by her had no basis.
Recalling reports that the expressway would be converted into a two-tier project with an estimate of ₹5,000 crore after Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s meeting with Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Mr. Stalin said the decision would reach nowhere. “Pillars have already been erected for the expressway and any change in the plan will delay the project and pave the way for corruption during the tender process,” he alleged.
The demonstration was led by DMK’s South Chennai district secretary Ma. Subramanian.
‘Vanniyars benefitted’
Meanwhile, Mr. Stalin said the 20% reservation for the Most Backward Classes (MBCs) introduced by the Karunanidhi government uplifted the children of the communities including the Vanniyars.
“In the last 30 years, the reservation gave a lift in education and employment to the children of these communities,” he told the party’s Villupuram district unit during a virtual meeting. He recalled that the DMK government had sanctioned compensation and monthly pension for the families of 25 persons killed in the Vanniyar agitation.
