New med college to come up in Namakkal at Rs. 338cr.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami recently said 85% of seats in the 11 new government medical colleges will be allotted to students from Tamil Nadu while the rest will be admitted from all India quota.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony for a government medical college to be built at the cost Rs 338.76 crore at Nallipalayam in the district , the chief minister said, “Students from the state who clear NEET exam will also be eligible under all India quota.”

On DMK chief M K Stalin’s comment that the new medical colleges would be of no use to students from the state as students from other states would enter the colleges by clearing NEET, Palaniswami said Stalin was spreading wrong information to the public. He said the percentage pattern which was followed in previous years would be followed in future as well.

“As mentioned in Amma’s ‘Vision 2023’, we are working to achieve all the goals set by her within that year,” he added.

The chief minister assured to construct a barrage across river Cauvery at the cost of Rs 65 crore to tide over water crisis in Namakkal and Karur districts.

“The barrage construction work is going on and it will be dedicated for the public use,” he said.

He also assured to convert Namakkal-Trichy highways as four-lane at the earliest. Proposal has been sent to the Central government and work will start once the state government gets nod.

Union minister for state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey and deputy CM O Panneerselvam also participated in the function.

The CM also laid foundation stones for eight new projects in the event. He distributed welfare measures to 33,141 beneficiaries at the cost of Rs. 134.37 crore.

Ministers P Thangamani (electricity), V Saroja (social welfare), C Vijayabaskar (health), Namakkal district collector K Megraj and others participated in the event.

Later, the chief minister inaugurated a government arts and science college in Senthamangalam. The college building was constructed at the cost of Rs. 7.98 crore.

After the inauguration, Palaniswami said, “My government had set up 12 new government arts and science colleges in the state.”

When Jayalalithaa became chief minister in 2011, 34 students out of 100 pursued higher education in the state.

“Now, it has gone up to 49,” he said, adding that thousands of students, especially from rural areas, are eagerly pursuing higher education after the AIADMK government created a viable environment for them. When compared with other states, Tamil Nadu offers higher education at cheaper cost, he said.

The CM also unveiled the plans to divert Mettur dam’s surplus water in Tirumanimutharu river scheme to irrigate farmlands in Salem, Namakkal and Tiruchengode areas. “Public Works Department officials are studying the feasibility of the project. The project will help dry areas to go green.” He said they were also looking into the feasibility of constructing a barrage across the Cauvery between Nerur village in Karur district and Oruvanthur village in Namakkal district.

School education minister K A Sengottaiyan, higher education minister K P Anbalagan, Namakkal MP A K P Chinraj, MLAs KPP Baskar, C Chandrasekaran and others participated in the function.

TOI