PM Modi launches slew of infra projects in Kerala

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated a bevy of infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the 2,000-MW Pugalur-Thrissur high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission corridor.

He said the power transmission corridor would ensure the transfer of a large quantum of power from the national grid to the State and guarantee reliable access to electricity.

Stating that “development is our aim, development is our religion,” the Prime Minister also inaugurated, via videoconference, a 50-MW solar park in Kasaragod and a 75-mld (million litres a day) water treatment plant at Aruvikkara, Thiruvananthapuram, and launched the work on two Smart City Mission initiatives in the capital — the ₹427-crore 37-km Smart Road project and the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the City Corporation.

“The great Malayalam poet Kumaran Asan said, ‘I’m not asking your caste, sister, I ask for water. I’m thirsty’. Development and good governance do not know caste, creed, race, gender, religion or language. Development is for everyone,” Mr. Modi said.

National grid link

The Pugalur-Thrissur line is Kerala’s first HVDC inter-connection with the national grid and the country’s first system to use the voltage source converter technology, he said.

Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram had made significant progress under the Smart Cities Mission. Under the mission, 27 projects worth ₹770 crore had been completed in the two cities, while 68 projects worth ₹2,000 crore were in the pipeline.As many as 175 water supply projects worth ₹1,100 crore were being taken up in Kerala under AMRUT, he said.

Mr. Modi said the government was giving utmost importance to the blue economy. Development strategies targeting the fishermen community were based on “more credit, increased technology, top-quality infrastructure, and supportive government policies”. Government policies would ensure that India became a hub of seafood exports, he added.

Presiding over the function, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that in a federal structure, it was imperative that governments at various levels work together for the benefit of the people. Mr. Vijayan assured the Centre of the State’s continued cooperation in projects that were being implemented jointly by the State and the Centre.

He said the State government was happy that work on the power transmission corridor, started in 2017, could be completed on time. Under the Smart Cities Mission initiatives, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the State, and the Centre were implementing projects worth ₹1,135 crore in the corporation. Under the ₹427-crore, Smart Roads project, 37 km of city roads would be developed with amenities, including footpath, cycle tracks, and utility corridors.

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State (Independent Charge) R.K. Singh also addressed the event. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Ministers, MLAs, and Mayor Arya Rajendran attended.