Chennai: Expanding welfare schemes ahead of a crucial assembly election, chief minister M K Stalin on Friday announced that one lakh housing units would be constructed under the Dravidian Model govt’s flagship programme ‘Kalaignar Kanavu Illam Thittam’ at a cost of Rs 3,500 crore.It was one of the five major announcements made by CM and greeted with loud applause from the treasury bench. “In addition to construction of two lakh houses in the last two fiscal years, govt will build one lakh houses in the coming fiscal year,” the CM said. It was part of the housing scheme that was designed to build a total of eight lakh houses to achieve hut-free Tamil Nadu by 2030.
He announced upgradation of a 2,200 km stretch of rural roads at a cost of Rs 1,088 crore under CM’s village road development scheme to improve rural economy. Under this scheme, govt already improved quality of 20,484 km long rural roads at a cost of Rs 8,911 crore. Addressing grievances of temporary teachers, CM said they would be given priority when recruitment was carried out to fill vacant posts of permanent teachers in govt schools. “We will publish a govt order in this regard soon,” he said. Govt will extend old age pension to 1.8 lakh people under the social security scheme. “It will be implemented from Feb 4 this year,” CM said, adding govt covered 33.60 lakh people from marginalised sections, including differently-abled, widowed, destitute, and elderly people in society. Govt will enhance pension from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,400 for noon-meal organisers, anganwadi workers, and village panchayat secretaries, while retirement benefits will be doubled from Rs one lakh to Rs two lakh. Special pensions for anganwadi helpers and forest field staff were enhanced from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,200, and their retirement benefit increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh, CM announced. Members of allies joined in applauding CM for the announcements.
