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TN BJP Chief Annamalai Fact-Checks MK Stalin For Overlooking Centre’s Role In ₹700 Crore Housing Project

Today, Tamil Nadu BJP  President K. Annamalai criticised Chief Minister M.K. Stalin for deliberately overlooking the central government’s contribution to a major infrastructure initiative. This project, located at the Industrial Housing Facility at SIPCOT Industrial Park Vallam Vadagal in Sriperumbudur, will provide safe housing for 18,720 working women.

Foxconn in Tamil Nadu

Chief Minister MK Stalin and Foxconn Hon Hai Chief Young Liu inaugurated a state-of-the-art housing complex in Sriperumbudur, Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu, on 17 August 2024. The ₹700 crore facility aims to offer a secure, clean, and comfortable environment for 18,000 women workers employed by Foxconn, an iPhone manufacturer.

The complex spans ten floors and 13 blocks and has amenities such as kitchens, dining areas, CCTV surveillance, UPS systems, ETPs, and recreational spaces. Foxconn will cover the rent on a per-bed basis. Highlighting Tamil Nadu’s significant presence in Foxconn’s operations in India, Young Liu remarked, “This represents a new beginning, and we are proud to support sustainability.”

This development follows a 2021 protest by Foxconn workers who complained about poor food and unhygienic living conditions, leading to allegations of food poisoning and subsequent scrutiny from Apple.

The CM boasted the project as “pioneering,” emphasising Tamil Nadu’s role as home to 42% of India’s industrial female workforce and entirely a state initiative. He outlined several women’s empowerment initiatives and stated that the state aims to become a leader in South Asia. Stalin also highlighted Tamil Nadu’s ambition to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

In his official X account, Chief Minister MK Stalin stated that “Tamil Nadu is the No. 1 state in India, with 42% of the nation’s total working women. For the first time in India, we have constructed and inaugurated a mega infrastructure project offering safe housing for 18,720 working women—the #SIPCOT Industrial Housing Facility in Thiruperumpudur. Thanks to @SIPCOTTN and @HonHai_Foxconn!”

Centre’s Role

The state government’s SIDCO (Small Industries Development Corporation) invested ₹170 crore, borrowed ₹500 crore, and utilised ₹30 crore from the central government’s affordable housing scheme for this project.

Responding to MK Stalin on X, the BJP chief pointed out that the state government failed to acknowledge Centre’s contributions. He noted that the Affordable Rented Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme, launched under PMAY-U in July 2020, included the Sriperumbudur and Chennai projects sanctioned to Tamil Nadu in September 2021 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Annamalai highlighted that the ₹707 crore project included a ₹37.44 crore central grant and a ₹498 crore loan from the State Bank of India. He expressed confidence that Chief Minister Stalin was aware of these details.

Annamalai stated, “The Affordable Rented Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme under PMAY-U was launched in July 2020, and the housing project in Sriperumbudur and Chennai was among the five ARHC projects Sanctioned to TN by our Hon PM Thiru @narendramodi avl in September 2021. Built at a cost of ₹707 Crore, the 18,720-bed dormitory in Vallam-Vadagal has a component of a Central Govt grant of ₹37.44 Crore & a term loan of ₹498 Crore from the State Bank of India. We are sure that TN CM Thiru @mkstalin is aware.”

Affordable Rental Housing Complexes

The Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in July 2020 as a sub-scheme of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Urban (PMAY-U).

The scheme aims to provide dignified and affordable rental housing for urban migrants and the poor near their workplaces. By offering better housing options close to their employment sites, it seeks to improve living conditions for these groups.

Implementation Model-1 involves converting existing government-funded vacant houses, built initially under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JnNURM) and Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), into ARHCs. This conversion is carried out either through Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) or by Public Agencies.

Model 2 focuses on the construction, operation, and maintenance of new ARHCs by public or private entities on their own vacant land. The housing facility in Sriperumbudur is part of the ARHC provided under Model 2 of the scheme, where construction, operation, and maintenance of ARHCs are done by Public or private Entities on their own vacant land.

In Tamil Nadu, several such projects with a total of 57,364 units were sanctioned by the Centre in cities including Chennai, Sriperumbudur, and Hosur alone, Kaushal Kishore, Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs, informed so in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on March 2022.

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