Cleared/MadanCoimbatore: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said on Friday all schemes announced for Coimbatore by the late Jayalalithaa would be implemented over the next four and a half years. The promises included a bus stand at Vellalore, the Avinashi-Chinniampalayam flyover, the Gandhipuram flyover, six-laning of the Pollachi Road and a monorail project.Palaniswami told the media here that the state government has sought the central government's nod to implement the Avinashi-Athikadavu groundwater project. The work would begin once the state gets the go-ahead, he said. " Amma initiated the Rs 3,023-crore project for the benefit of farmers and residents of Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode and had allocated an initial fund of Rs 3 crore," he said.Asked about Kerala government's bid to construct check dams across the Bhavani river, Palaniswami said no one can deny the state its rightful share of water. "We have approached the Supreme Court against the Kerala government," he said.The chief minister said he would meet prime minister Narendra Modi on Monday to urge him to exempt Tamil Nadu from the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)."The prime minister has agreed to meet me on Monday to discuss the issues related to the NEET. I will explain to him why NEET is not suitable for the state and urge him to exempt the state from the eligibility test," he said.The student community had held widespread protests against NEET, fearing that state board students would find it difficult to crack the test that would be based on CBSE syllabus.Palaniswami promised full cooperation to the central government to take welfare schemes to the people. "We have always worked with the central government and will continue to cooperate with it for the welfare of the people," the chief minister said.Referring to the protest against the proposed hydrocarbon exploration and extraction project in Pudukottai, Palaniswami said the state would do whatever it takes to ensure the welfare of the farmers. "It is a central government scheme, but we will continue to take care of our farmers as Amma did and do whatever it takes to take care of their welfare."Palaniswami refused to comment on Jaya's nephew Deepak Jayaraman's take on the elevation of T T V Dinakaran as AIADMK general secretary. "It is his personal opinion. I cannot comment on people's personal opinions," he said.Jayaraman initially supported the Sasikala faction. However, on Thursday, he said Dinakaran was unfit to lead the party and the post should go to former chief minister O Paneerselvam.He allayed doubts regarding Jayalalithaa's death. "People are misguided into seeking a probe into Amma's death. But nothing wrong happened," he asserted.

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