Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami called on Union Defence Minister and BJP senior Rajnath Singh at the Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday and sought his intervention to ensure quick transfer of Defence lands for flyovers and proposed airport expansion projects.
Mr Rajnath Singh who was on a two-day visit to the city had earlier in the day participated in the Investiture Ceremony of the Indian Coast Guard.
During the brief meeting, which lasted about twenty minutes, Mr. Palaniswami was said to have discussed about the security issue, especially in the wake of summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese premier Xi Jinping scheduled October 11 to 13 at Mahabalipuram near here.
In a memorandum submitted to Mr. Rajnath, Mr. Palaniswami sought the Defence Ministry to expedite the process of handing over (0.08 acres land) at Anakaputhur, to complete the construction of a bridge across the Adyar river. Similarly, he requested the Minister's intervention in obtaining the Defence lands at Pallavaram and Tiruchy to construct the flyovers. Also, the Defence Ministry should accelerate the process of providing lands for the proposed expansion of airports at Chennai, Coimbatore and Tiruchy.
Ahead of the Defence Minsiter's visit, on Monday, Indian Coast Guard Director General Krishnaswamy Natarajan met Mr. Palaniswami and apprised him about various developments envisaged to strengthen the maritime domain. "Director General Krishnaswamy Natarajan called on hon'ble Chief Minister Thiru Edappadi K Palaniswami and briefed about various developments envisaged to strengthen maritime domain of TN state," Indian Coast Guard said in a tweet.
Mr. Natarajan also met Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, who assured his continued support for rescue and relief to fishermen in distress. Mr. Panneerselvam acknowledged the efforts of state government in strengthening coastal security mechanism.
