PM Modi to lay foundation for projects worth ₹1,571 crore in Puducherry

PM Modi will inaugurate ₹1,571 crore worth of projects in Puducherry, including the first Special Economic Zone in the UT.

Coinciding with the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Puducherry for laying the foundation stone for 74 projects – estimated to cost around ₹1,571 crore – and the inauguration of 19 completed works worth ₹1,142 crores, the Union government has approved the inclusion of the Union Territory under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme. This allows the territorial administration to draw from Central assistance for asset-creation works. 

Originally limited to States, the inclusion of the UT in the scheme, based on a request made by the Puducherry government, will entitle the administration to avail of funds for the improvement of infrastructure and public utility works. Under SASCI, the Prime Minister, during his visit on March 1, will lay the foundation for 37 projects worth ₹315.25 crore. The projects include urban roads, drainage networks, student hostels, and sports facilities.

The Prime Minister will also lay various Centrally Sponsored/Central Sector schemes worth ₹253.84 crore. Key projects include the construction of 41 rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana, development of a heritage town in Puducherry under the Challenge Based Destination Development Scheme, and mangrove restoration under the Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats and Tangible Income Scheme, an official release said. 

Mr. Modi will lay the foundation for ₹646.84 crore worth of projects under the Revamped Distribution Sector of the Ministry of Power. 

During the visit, the Prime Minister will announce the long-pending development of 750-acre land at Sedarapet-Karasur villages here into a Special Economic Zone, the first of its kind in the UT. The project has been pending for more than a decade.

After the development of the 750-acre area, the release said the industrial zone will house a pharma park, textile park, IT park, research centre of IIT Madras, and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities of JIPMER.