Within hours of assuming office on Monday, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa sanctioned seven orders delivering on her promise of freebies and welfare schemes.

Assuming charge at the Fort St George, the old secretariat in accordance with her plan announced confidently in the run-up to the state assembly polls, Jayalalithaa signed her approval of the welfare schemes including 20kg rice free of cost for all eligible ration card holders. Most of the schemes focussed on women’s welfare.

Addressing a press conference in the evening, the chief minister said she would take Tamil Nadu on the path of development to make it the number one state in the country.

Asked about the fate of the Rs 1,000 crore new secretariat-assembly complex built by the DMK Government, a dream project of former chief minister M Karunanidhi, she said her cabinet would decide on it. “We have to review all the decisions of the previous government,” she added.

She ordered financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to educated poor women in the state in addition to four grams of gold free of cost for enabling them tie their ‘Thali'(sacred necklace) to sanctify the nuptial knot. .

Jayalalithaa also doubled the monthly financial assistance from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for old age pensioners, differently abled pensioners, deserted women and destitute widow pensioners.

Now, women degree and diploma holders in Tamil Nadu will get financial assistance of Rs 50,000 for their marriage related expenses as against the earlier assistance of Rs 25,000.

In her first media interaction, she said that financial assistance for the fishermen, who will be restricted to onshore during 45 days ban, has been increased from Rs 1,000 to 2,000.

In another welfare scheme, she ordered the increase of maternity leave to six months for state government women employees.

She said a seperate department of “Special Programme Implementation” will be formed under a minister, which will look after and monitor all government schemes.

She also ordered 20 kgs of free rice to eligible ration card holders and 35 kgs to BPL families, who are holding “Andyodhya Anna Yojana” family card.

Answering questions, Jayalalithaa said she would visit Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Asked whether she would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had greeted her on her poll victory, Jayalalithaa avoided a direct reply saying,”details of my visit will be known to you soon”.

Jayalalithaa said her priotiy was to restore law and order and bring down the prices of essential commodities. She also claimed that after she came to power the chain snatching incidents had reduced in the state.

Alleging “total collapse” of administrative machinery during the five-year DMK rule, she said Tamil Nadu had now been saved from an ‘autocratic rule’. To a question on implementing government cable network as it was promised in the manifesto, she replied that the government would take steps in this regard.

On her cabinet, the AIADMK chief called it a mixture of senior persons and youngsters “We have succeeded in giving representation to all regions, castes and religions,” she said.

Within hours of assuming office on Monday, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa sanctioned seven orders delivering on her promise of freebies and welfare schemes.

Assuming charge at the Fort St George, the old secretariat in accordance with her plan announced confidently in the run-up to the state assembly polls, Jayalalithaa signed her approval of the welfare schemes including 20kg rice free of cost for all eligible ration card holders. Most of the schemes focussed on women’s welfare.

Addressing a press conference in the evening, the chief minister said she would take Tamil Nadu on the path of development to make it the number one state in the country.

Asked about the fate of the Rs 1,000 crore new secretariat-assembly complex built by the DMK Government, a dream project of former chief minister M Karunanidhi, she said her cabinet would decide on it. “We have to review all the decisions of the previous government,” she added.

She ordered financial assistance of Rs 25,000 to educated poor women in the state in addition to four grams of gold free of cost for enabling them tie their ‘Thali'(sacred necklace) to sanctify the nuptial knot. .

Jayalalithaa also doubled the monthly financial assistance from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for old age pensioners, differently abled pensioners, deserted women and destitute widow pensioners.

Now, women degree and diploma holders in Tamil Nadu will get financial assistance of Rs 50,000 for their marriage related expenses as against the earlier assistance of Rs 25,000.

In her first media interaction, she said that financial assistance for the fishermen, who will be restricted to onshore during 45 days ban, has been increased from Rs 1,000 to 2,000.

In another welfare scheme, she ordered the increase of maternity leave to six months for state government women employees.

She said a seperate department of “Special Programme Implementation” will be formed under a minister, which will look after and monitor all government schemes.

She also ordered 20 kgs of free rice to eligible ration card holders and 35 kgs to BPL families, who are holding “Andyodhya Anna Yojana” family card.

Answering questions, Jayalalithaa said she would visit Delhi to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Asked whether she would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who had greeted her on her poll victory, Jayalalithaa avoided a direct reply saying,”details of my visit will be known to you soon”.

Jayalalithaa said her priotiy was to restore law and order and bring down the prices of essential commodities. She also claimed that after she came to power the chain snatching incidents had reduced in the state.

Alleging “total collapse” of administrative machinery during the five-year DMK rule, she said Tamil Nadu had now been saved from an ‘autocratic rule’. To a question on implementing government cable network as it was promised in the manifesto, she replied that the government would take steps in this regard.

On her cabinet, the AIADMK chief called it a mixture of senior persons and youngsters “We have succeeded in giving representation to all regions, castes and religions,” she said.

source: http://www.e-news4u.com / Tuesday May 17th, 2011