As soon as the results to the Assembly elections had started coming in on May 13, making it clear the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by Ms J. Jayalalithaa, is set to come back to power, she had asserted that restoring the fiscal health and law order situation in Tamil Nadu are among the top priorities for the Government.

When the new Government was sworn in a couple of days later, the Chief Minister demonstrated her resolve to get to work fast when the entire 34-member Cabinet with portfolios allocated was sworn in on May 15. Ms Jayalalithaa reiterated her resolve while keeping a clear focus on the development agenda and the needs of agriculture, manufacturing and other sectors, all of which hold the key to the fiscal well being of the State.

Following this up, on the first day at work, the Chief Minister signed seven orders in line with AIADMK's election promises. These included a hike in financial support to for the wedding expenses of educated poor women, hike in monthly pension for physically disabled women and the destitute, supply of rice free through the Public Distribution System, doubling the cash support for fishermen families during the annual 45-day fishing ban to Rs 2,000 a month, and granting six months maternity leave for Government employees.

The focus on development was underscored by the creation of a Department of Special Programme Implementation to oversee the implementation of the election promises.

Powering ahead

The Government is also making a mark in industry – it may be recalled that it was a previous AIADMK-led Government which put Chennai on the global map of the automobile industry by facilitating entry of Ford into India with a car plant near Chennai. This catalysed the entry of other global car manufacturers including Hyundai, Renault, Nissan and BMW.

The present Government is set to carry this momentum forward with Eicher Motors signing an agreement to set up a Rs 350-crore Royal Enfield motorcycle plant at Oragadam near Chennai. A delegation of high-level officials from the French car manufacturer PSA Peugeot Citroen has also met with the Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa, and has evinced keen interest in setting up a plant here.

A month to the day she assumed power, Ms Jayalalithaa met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to represent the State's case in addressing its fiscal and physical infrastructure issues. She sought a Rs 45,000-crore support for new projects, including renewable energy generation, and a Rs 40,000-crore bail out package for the State power utility, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

new initiatives

Some of the new initiatives charted out in the representation included a Rs 16,650-crore monorail project for Chennai, assistance for a 2,000-km upgradation of highways under the Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project in the second phase, expediting the Chennai Outer Ring Road project, and support to strengthen urban infrastructure for which over Rs 20,000 crore was needed over five years covering water supply, drainage, waste disposal and road infrastructure.

This includes Rs 9,500 crore to revamp and augment waster supply in urban local bodies; Rs 5,700 crore to renovate about 18,000 km of the 39,500-km urban roads; Rs 3,000 crore for solid waste management with scientific landfills; Rs 1,100 crore for sewer networks; and Rs 700 crore for new Urban Health Centres. She also sought support for the ongoing housing schemes and the new housing scheme envisaged by the State Government to provide solar-powered houses.

In its first budget for 2011-12, the new Government has followed up this commitment to inclusive development with focus on the needs of the poor while charting out a clear plan for economic growth with emphasis on agriculture and industrial development. The Government announced Rs 8,900 crore worth of new development schemes and benefits.

New industrial policy

The State Budget also charted out an outline on its strategy for industrial growth and attracting investments. It has plans to come out with a new industrial policy 2011 and sector-specific policies to catalyse automobiles and auto components, information and communication technology, biotechnology and pharma industries. A shelf of projects will be created for strengthening infrastructure for continuous implementation.

The State Government has also announced plans to set up Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board to be led by the Chief Minister to identify and expedite the infrastructure projects through public sector and public-private partnerships.

Land banks

A new land acquisition policy is also to be formulated to create land banks for industry and infrastructure while protecting the interests of land owners. It is creating a 7,900-acre land bank for allocation to industry, says the Industries Department's policy note.

The acquisition is spread across major industrial hubs, including Tuticorin, Cheyyar, Sriperumbudur, Oragadam, Madurai, and Villupuram, with the objective of broad basing industrial development. SIPCOT has so far developed 19 industrial complexes and allotted 17,889 acres developed land to 1,979 units which have generated 4.5 lakh jobs. It has acquired a total of 27,115 acres for industries' use.

agriculture

In agriculture, the Government has committed to the objective of tripling farmers' income in the next five years. With a foodgrain production target of 115 lakh tonnes in the current year against last year's production of 85.35 lakh tonnes, the focus will be on increasing productivity through technology dissemination, mechanisation and supporting irrigation growth. Over Rs 3,000 crore crop loans – interest- free for prompt repayment – will be disbursed through cooperatives in 2011-12. Allocation under various programmes has also been hiked, the Government has said.

On the law and order front, the Government has said in the Budget that the police would be free to perform their duties. Since May, over 2,491 complaints were received relating to land grabbing. It is also modernising the police force and upgrading infrastructure.

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