Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Wednesday said that the government is formulating a natural resources management plan.

The Governor, in his customary address to the state Legislative Assembly, said that this was to conduct mining in an ecologically sustainable manner so as to raise revenue for the government.

Even as Tamil Nadu was rich in natural resources, the state government was not getting adequate revenue from mining and that in the past decade, revenue from mining have stagnated in the state, he said.

The Governor also said that the state government would bring out Bhakti literature as part of the rich Tamil culture and heritage and literature. He said that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department would establish a state-of-the-art publishing division to bring out books on the history and architecture of temples.

He also appreciated the state government for taking proactive steps to safeguard temple lands and properties and effective management of temple assets.

The Governor said that entrance exams were creating unequal platforms for rural students and were discriminatory against them. In the address, the Governor said: “This government is of the firm view that entrance exams like NEET are unnecessary for student admission to professional courses and will continue to reiterate this position.”

The Tamil Nadu Governor also said that the Government is in the process of achieving target of a Trillion dollar economy by 2030 and said that the government has already initiated programmes and policies for this vision of the Chief Minister, M K Stalin. He said that a detailed action plan titled,” Towards One Trillion Dollar Economy” would be prepared to realise this vision.

Governor also said that the usage of Tamil language would be popularised in all government institutions, private schools, shops, and commercial establishments through the “Engum Thamizh Edhilum Thamizh” scheme.

He also said that the Tamil Nadu government has sought financial assistance of Rs 6,230 crore from the Union government for the restoration works in rain-affected areas of the sate and urged the Union government to release funds from the National Disaster Response Fund to settle the effects caused by the damage in floods.

The Tamil Nadu Governor also said that the state government under M K Stalin had handled the Covid pandemic efficiently and said: “When this government assumed office, the coverage of vaccination was very low with only 8.09 per cent of the eligible population administered with the first dose of the vaccine and 2.84 per cent the second dose.”

However, in just seven months after the Stalin government assumed office due to the concerted efforts of the government, vaccination was administered to 86.95 per cent of the population with the first dose and 60.71 per cent of the population with the second dose.

The Governor also said that a new tourism policy was in the anvil for the state which would be realised in 2022 itself.