Pact to develop port next month, says Union Minister.

Union Minister of State for Transport Pon. Radhakrishnan recently said the Chennai Port Trust and Puducherry Government will enter into an understanding next month to develop the port here.

Addressing a press conference here on the sidelines of a seminar on road safety, he said the delay in signing the agreement was owing to long holidays this month. The agreement would be signed next month, he said.

It might be recalled that the territorial administration was awaiting the nod from the Ministry to enter into an understanding with Chennai Port Trust to operationalise the port.

The Minister said steps had been taken to construct a four-lane road along the East Coast from Chennai to Kanyakumari. The territorial administration and Tamil Nadu government had agreed to part with land to realize the project. The project would cost around Rs. 10,000 crore.

The Union Government would provide all assistance to the territorial administration. “We don’t discriminate between the BJP-ruled and non BJP-ruled States when it comes to extending assistance. All the genuine demands of UT would be fulfilled,” he said.

When brought to his notice the criticism against Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi that she was running a parallel government, the Union Minister said Ms. Bedi was carrying out her responsibilities. “She is doing her work. It is not mandatory to inform elected representatives while she conducts a tour of the constituency,” he said to a specific question.

The UT had a high accident rate and the vehicle population was more than the national average. On an average per year, around 200 fatal accidents occured. There were around 9.6 lakh registered vehicle for a population of around 12 lakh.

The Ministry was working on modalities to bring down accident cases. Over speeding, rash and drunken driving had been identified as the three major causes for all accidents, he said.

The Ministry was working on ways to bring out light weight-high quality helmets.

Earlier, Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy, along with his cabinet colleagues, received the Union Minister.

THE HINDU