Chennai: As the AIADMK regime in Tamil Nadu under the leadership of party supremo J. Jayalalithaa entered its fifth year on Saturday, it is the slew of welfare schemes initiated by her that continue to fortify its rapport with the people. The first set of measures that Ms Jayalalithaa set in motion soon after being sworn in this day in May 2011 as Chief Minister for a fourth time after a resounding victory in the Assembly elections, straight fulfilled three of her party’s key poll promises, — providing 20 kg of free rice per month to entitled cardholders under the public distribution system (PDS), enhancing the marriage assistance scheme for women to include four grams of gold free for thali and doubling the cash aid under it to Rs 50,000, besides doubling the monthly old age pension to Rs1,000.
Another hugely popular scheme with the youth the AIADMK government has been implementing is the distribution of free laptops to students at the plus-2 level in state-aided schools and for students in government Arts and Science colleges. So far, 21.65 lakh students have benefited under this scheme. And in the Budget for 2015-16, the state has earmarked Rs 1,100 crore for “this flagship scheme”, as the present Chief Minister, Mr O. Pannerelvam disclosed in his budget speech this year.
When Ms Jayalalithaa took over the reins of the administration in May 2011, she lost no time in mitigating the crisis in the state’s power scenario that was inherited from the previous DMK regime, with topmost priority. Unveiling a far-reaching ‘Vision 2023’ document, Ms Jayalalithaa’s dynamism in leading that initial post-election phase saw Tamil Nadu’s overall growth rate later turnaround to 7.29 per cent during 2013-14.
Adding to them was Ms Jayalalithaa’s untiring personal efforts in pressing the Central Government to notify in the GOI Gazette the Cauvery Tribunal’s final award. Her government’s sustained legal efforts also resulted in the Supreme Court allowing Tamil Nadu to finally raise the water level in the Mullaiperiyar dam to 142 feet.The farming community in the state hailed these two achievements as ‘crowning’ her pro-people’s approach, hoping that they would stabilize the state’s agricultural growth in the long run.
Several other welfare schemes later rolled out, the most envied even by other states and countries being the highly popular ‘Amma Unavagams’ to serve quality, low-cost food to the poor and migrant workers in major urban areas. The state opening outlets to retail packaged drinking water, ‘Amma Salt’, and even ‘Amma cement’ at affordable cost to the people followed suit.
The 14th Finance Commission recommendations last year did not bring cheer to the state, even as its apprehensions over GST’s (Goods and Services Tax) introduction continue to be two worries for the state. Political observers say that the expected return of Ms Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister — after the Karnataka high court recently acquitted her in the assets case — should bring back the needed dynamism to the political leadership in tackling the larger fiscal issues facing the state and readying for the 2016 Assembly polls.
