Tamil Nadu second most preferred for foreign investments: Jayalalithaa
CHENNAI: Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on Thursday said Tamil Nadu is one of the three most preferred states for business investments in the country and the state ranked second behind Maharashtra in the gross domestic product turnout, besides being the first in the number of factories.
Replying to the discussion on the motion of thanks to Governor’s address, she said the state occupied the first place in the number of workers and the registration of new MSMEs. The state is also in the third position in exports and occupied a prime position in attracting foreign investments.
The foreign investments attracted during the last five years is twice that of the foreign investments the state got from 2000 to 2011, she said. Of the Rs 2.42 lakh crore investments drawn during the Global Investors Meet, Rs 23,258 crore had been invested by 54 companies.
The companies are in the process of acquiring land and mobilising funds. Even before the GIM, 33 MoUs were signed for an investment of Rs 31,706 crore, Jayalalithaa said and added that in the last five years, 5,97,395 MSMEs had been started with an investment of Rs 10,0101 crore.
She complained that both the UPA and BJP governments were refusing to form the Cauvery Management Board and Cauvery Water Regulations Committee so that the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal could be implemented. The petition filed by Tamil Nadu government on the issue would come up for SC hearing on July 19 and the case would be heard in special sittings.
“We will insist on formation of CMB and CWRC and I hope that we will will succeed”, the Chief Minister said. Similarly, the water storage level in Mullaiperiyar dam would be raised to 152 feet after strengthening the dam, she said.
Replying to allegations on price rise, she attributed the phenomenon to the demand and supply at the national level, besides the prices of petrol and diesel, adding that the state government could not do anything about these policies. She also said the fertiliser prices were increased by the UPA government by a DMK minister.
Denying that murders by hired gangs are on the rise, she said the relatives and friends of few persons were involved in murders and hired gangs were not connected to it.
“There is no iota of truth in the allegations that the government is unable to control hired gangs”, she said. The number of crimes as well as the crime rate had come down during the AIADMK government, the Chief Minister asserted.
