writingonblog uncensored: Dixon Technologies to launch Tamil Nadu manufactur...

writingonblog uncensored: Dixon Technologies to launch Tamil Nadu manufactur...: CHENNAI: Dixon Technologies, one of India's largest contract electronics manufacturers, will establish a Centre of Excellence in Tamil...

Dixon Technologies to launch Tamil Nadu manufacturing research centre

CHENNAI:
Dixon Technologies, one of India's largest contract electronics manufacturers, will establish a Centre of Excellence in Tamil Nadu dedicated to Industry 5.0 research and workforce training, according to a top Guidance official.

This comes after Dixon's Vice-Chairman Prithvi Vachani and Josh Foulger, chairman of the company's IT hardware and new projects division, met Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to discuss the proposal, the official added.

The centre will focus on smart manufacturing, localised product development and applied research conducted jointly with academic institutions, a top Guidance Department official told TNIE.

The official said over the next five years, the CoE aims to accelerate smart manufacturing and localised product development, undertake more than 20 joint applied research projects, target 50 patent filings, and develop over 150 industry-ready ME engineers.

To a query on whether this is part of the earlier announcement of Dixon made during April last year, the official said this is a new announcement and further details will emerge later.

Dixon Technologies last year announced to establish a new electronics manufacturing facility at the Oragadam Industrial Park in Tamil Nadu’s Kanchipuram district with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore ($ 120 million), which is expected to generate around 5,000 jobs. The investment underscores the state’s growing prominence as a hardware production hub and this will support the production of laptops and all-in-one PCs.

The initiative signals continuity in that push under the new administration, with Dixon framing the centre as a vehicle for deeper industry-academia collaboration rather than a standalone facility.

writingonblog uncensored: PM e-Bus Sewa snub weakens Tamil Nadu's metro case...

writingonblog uncensored: PM e-Bus Sewa snub weakens Tamil Nadu's metro case...:   Centre rejects revised proposals for Coimbatore, Madurai Metro projects C Shivakumar @ Chennai: The Union housing ministry has rebuffed T...

PM e-Bus Sewa snub weakens Tamil Nadu's metro case, Centre says

 

The Union housing ministry has again rejected Tamil Nadu's attempt to revive metro rail projects in Coimbatore and Madurai, dismissing the state's arguments on ridership, travel-time savings and population thresholds in a detailed rebuttal that leaves both projects in limbo.

The rejection is the second issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). While an earlier appraisal, before Tamil Nadu submitted its rebuttal in May, argued that both cities fell short of the two-million population benchmark under the Metro Rail Policy, 2017, the ministry's latest assessment responds point by point to Chennai Metro Rail Ltd's (CMRL) counter-arguments and introduces a fresh objection.

In a July 22 letter to the state's chief secretary, MoHUA said Tamil Nadu's decision not to participate in the Centre's PM e-Bus Sewa scheme has deprived Coimbatore and Madurai of the feeder bus networks needed to generate viable metro ridership. It disputed almost every technical justification advanced by CMRL, arguing that the detailed project reports overstate the case for elevated metro rail over less expensive bus-based alternatives.

At the heart of the dispute is whether Tamil Nadu's second- and third-largest cities generate sufficient demand and travel-time savings to justify metro systems, or whether upgraded bus rapid transit systems (BRTS) could deliver similar benefits at a fraction of the cost.

The ministry rejected CMRL's estimate that a metro would reduce a 7.5-km peak-hour journey by eight minutes, or 35%, compared with road transport. Once walking time to stations, waiting time and access at the destination are included, it said, "there will be hardly any savings in time by metro". It added that significant time and cost savings generally influence commuters only on trips exceeding 15 km, well above the average journey lengths cited by CMRL for both cities.

A senior government official said the ministry's position reflects lessons from smaller cities where metro systems have struggled to attract passengers. Journey times in such cities are already relatively short, the official said, and once commuters account for the time spent reaching elevated stations and exiting them at the destination, the overall time advantage over road transport largely disappears. That has contributed to weak ridership in cities such as Indore and explains the Centre's increasing reluctance to approve metro systems for smaller urban centres.

MoHUA was equally unconvinced by CMRL's ridership projections. It noted that the state had projected higher patronage for Coimbatore's comparatively short corridor than for Chennai's much larger metro network while acknowledging that the city's bus system remains underdeveloped. A metro without adequate feeder buses and last-mile connectivity "cannot fetch ridership", the ministry said.

The ministry repeatedly linked this weakness to Tamil Nadu's decision not to join the PM e-Bus Sewa scheme, arguing that the programme could have strengthened bus fleets in Coimbatore and Madurai and provided the feeder services essential for metro operations.

On population, MoHUA rejected the state's reliance on 2022 planning estimates of 2.97 million for Coimbatore and 2.915 million for Madurai to satisfy the Metro Rail Policy's eligibility criteria. The ministry said the 2011 Census remains the appropriate benchmark, under which Coimbatore Municipal Corporation has a population of only 1.584 million. Much of the wider local planning area population, it argued, is unlikely to use a metro network largely confined to the corporation limits.

The ministry also highlighted implementation risks. It noted that the state had acknowledged right of way of less than 20 metres along sections of the proposed Coimbatore corridors, implying substantial demolition during construction. It also pointed to Chennai Metro as a cautionary example: Phase I, sanctioned in 2009, took a decade to complete, while Phase II, launched in 2020, has achieved only 54.62% physical progress.

MoHUA stressed that it had no objection in principle to either at-grade or elevated BRTS and reiterated that population alone is not the sole criterion for metro approval. However, after examining the proposals in their entirety, it said both DPRs had been returned.

Tamil Nadu renewed its push for the projects earlier this year after then chief minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking reconsideration of the Centre's earlier rejection. The issue also figured during Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's review of metro rail projects on July 22.

Shreya Gadepalli, an urban mobility expert, said evidence from Indian cities suggests metro rail has not adequately addressed mobility needs in many tier-two cities.

"A small metro network may look impressive, but it is expensive to build and does not provide the extensive connectivity most urban residents require," she said. "A high-quality bus system with a large fleet of air-conditioned buses costs a fraction of a metro while serving every part of the city. Combined with dedicated bus lanes through congested stretches, it can deliver fast and reliable services comparable to metro rail."

She said Coimbatore should aspire to a "triple-five" bus network, enabling residents to walk to a bus stop within five minutes, wait no more than five minutes for a bus and complete their journey with minimal delay.

Factfile:
1. MoHUA says metro's 8-minute edge over road claimed by CMRL vanishes once station access/egress and waiting time are counted in
2. Ministry cites underdeveloped city bus networks in Coimbatore and Madurai as a barrier to metro ridership — echoing Indore's experience, per official sources
3. Tamil Nadu's non-participation in the Centre's PM e-Bus Sewa scheme flagged repeatedly as a missed chance to fix last-mile connectivity
4. MoHUA rejects 2022 projections (Coimbatore: 29.7 lakh; Madurai: 29.15 lakh), says 2011 Census remains the valid base — puts Coimbatore's core city population at just 15.84 lakh
5.  Chennai Metro cited as cautionary benchmark — Phase I took 10 years (2009-19); Phase II, launched 2020, only 54.62% complete
6. Both DPRs "returned after examining the proposal in entirety"; MoHUA open to BRTS instead, signalling no new metro sanctions for smaller cities

writingonblog uncensored: Supreme Court summons Tamil Nadu bureaucrat as Che...

writingonblog uncensored: Supreme Court summons Tamil Nadu bureaucrat as Che...: C Shivakumar @ Chennai: The Supreme Court has ordered a senior Tamil Nadu bureaucrat to appear before it next month to explain why proceed...

Supreme Court summons Tamil Nadu bureaucrat as Chennai's illegal construction case widens into nationwide review

C Shivakumar @ Chennai:
The Supreme Court has ordered a senior Tamil Nadu bureaucrat to appear before it next month to explain why proceedings should not be initiated against her over an affidavit the bench said appeared designed to protect, rather than investigate, an illegally constructed building, as it expanded the case into a nationwide review of planning law enforcement.

In a sharply worded order, a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan directed Kakarla Usha, then Secretary in Tamil Nadu's Housing and Urban Development Department, to file a written explanation and remain personally present at the next hearing on August 4, 2026. The judges described her affidavit as "shocking", saying it reflected a "blatant disregard for the rule of law" and amounted to a "bold attempt to shield" Loganathan, whose special leave petition against the State of Tamil Nadu had already been dismissed by the court on February 16.

The bench also directed every state and union territory to file fresh affidavits, personally sworn by senior officials, detailing action taken against illegal construction and unauthorised land-use changes. It warned that officials who fail to comply with its directions or remain absent from future hearings could face contempt proceedings.

The proceedings stem from a petition filed by Loganathan challenging action taken against an unauthorised building in Chennai. While dismissing the petition in February, the Supreme Court noted that the petitioner had constructed a ground-plus-one building without any sanctioned plan, observing that such a structure could not have come up without the "collusion and connivance" of municipal officials. It directed the Tamil Nadu government to investigate the lapse and asked the Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation to explain, through a personally sworn affidavit, how the violation had gone unchecked.

The Commissioner's response said the property was under the jurisdiction of the erstwhile Madhavaram Municipality when the construction took place rather than the Greater Chennai Corporation, an explanation the bench said it would keep "in abeyance".

The court was even more critical of a March 22, 2024 order issued by the Additional Secretary (Technical) in the Housing and Urban Development Department directing that no coercive action be taken against the violators despite a Madras High Court direction that the matter be dealt with strictly in accordance with law. Saying it was "unable to comprehend" how such an order could have been passed in the face of an admitted violation, the bench directed the state to identify the officer responsible and explain the decision.

Concluding that the Chennai case reflected a wider pattern of weak enforcement, the Supreme Court in March expanded the proceedings into a nationwide examination of illegal construction and misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes. It impleaded municipal corporations in every state and union territory capital, along with the Tamil Nadu government through its Chief Secretary, and appointed senior advocate Ajit Kumar Sinha as amicus curiae. Civic bodies were directed to audit their jurisdictions and submit reports identifying unauthorised commercial use of residential properties.

When the matter returned in May, Sinha told the court that only three states had filed affidavits and none had adequately detailed follow-up enforcement action. Referring to Delhi's Lajpat Nagar and Sarojini Nagar, he said buildings approved for two storeys had been expanded far beyond sanctioned plans, posing serious structural risks.

Rejecting arguments that mixed-use provisions under Delhi's Master Plan justified such deviations, the bench ruled that changing the approved use of a building after obtaining sanction amounted to "nothing short of a fraud on the system". It added that the failure of civic authorities to act could indicate "tacit collusion and connivance" with violators. The court also impleaded Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs secretary.

The judges reserved their strongest criticism for Usha's subsequent affidavit, saying it appeared "more in defence of the petitioner than reflective of the objective and responsible position expected from a senior public officer". They noted that despite the dismissal of the petition and the lifting of all interim protection in February, the unauthorised structure remained standing more than three months later, a circumstance that "prima facie suggests connivance". The court directed Tamil Nadu's counsel to immediately communicate its order requiring Usha's personal appearance and written explanation at the next hearing.
The state housing department could not be reached on what kind of action being initiated by the state against  following the Supreme Court's observation on illegal construction and misuse of residential properties for commercial purposes.

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