I set my own targets, says Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin on birthday eve; launches seven new projects

Launching the schemes at a ceremony held at the Anna Centenary Memorial Library Hall, Stalin called the schemes social security initiatives.

ByPTI

Published Feb 28, 2023 | 8:19 PMUpdatedFeb 28, 2023 | 8:19 PM

Chief Minister Stalin turns 70 on 1 March. (Twitter)

Seven special schemes, including a pilot plan for nurturing sanitary workers as entrepreneurs, ensuring nutrition for children and their mothers, and an increase in pension from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 for indigent transwomen, were launched on Tuesday, 28 February, by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Launching the schemes on the eve of his birthday at a ceremony held at the Anna Centenary Memorial Library Hall in Chennai, Stalin called the schemes social security initiatives. He turns 70 on Wednesday.

Addressing the public, the chief minister said that he has been involved in politics for 55 years, which was all about duty and service to people. He said that it is in sync with the ideology of reformist leader Thanthai Periyar, former chief ministers late CN Annadurai, late M Karunanidhi, and late DMK veteran K Anbazhagan.

Stalin said that being a follower of such leaders, he is setting targets to serve people by using all the opportunities he got in his life. “Nobody is setting targets for me. I am formulating my goals and to achieve them, I am striving daily.” he said.

He added, “Seeing God in the laughter of poor people is the common goal.” That is the reason behind continuous launch of schemes aimed at benefitting the people, he said.

Seven schemes announced

“Under the Dravidian model of governance, daily schemes is my plan — devising plans every day. As part of that task, I am happy to launch these seven very important schemes.”

The “free bus travel scheme” was his first imitative after taking over as chief minister on 7 May 2021. The launch date of the “₹1,000 assistance for women plan” would be made known during the presentation of the state budget on March 20.

The “nutrition scheme” covers ready-to-use therapeutic food for eight weeks for 1,11,216 children aged between six months and six years, who face severe nutritional deficiency.

Aimed at improving nutrition of mothers of 11,917 children — from newborns to six-month-olds with severe malnutrition — and facilitate breastfeeding, a total of two nutrition packs were distributed by the chief minister to five young mothers, marking the launch of the scheme.

Also Read: Don’t ignore criticism over schemes on social media, Stalin tells officials

A big win for manual scavengers

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) for promoting entrepreneurship among sanitary workers and their families and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The initiative envisages subsidy from government schemes, as well as nurturing entrepreneurship among sanitary workers and the SCs/STs.

Regarding the pact with DICCI, Stalin said that the government plans to use hi-tech equipment with the view halt manual scavenging and fully prevent loss of lives of those who take up underground drainage system maintenance and other related tasks.

Sanitary workers would be elevated as entrepreneurs and they can take up maintenance work by deploying equipment, he said. Under the initiative, selected sanitary workers and their families would be provided modern equipment and vehicles, besides skill enhancement training.

The plan would be implemented in Chennai on a pilot basis and it shall be later extended to other parts of the State, he said.

Also Read: MK Stalin says DMK has fulfilled 85% of its poll promises

Seven schemes for seven promises

On his Twitter handle, Stalin said that the seven schemes he launched are aimed at achieving the goals he had set as part of seven electoral assurances he had made ahead of the 2021 Assembly election.

“My goal is a prosperous, strong, poverty free, egalitarian and self-respecting Tamil Nadu. Let us strive everyday to achieve that goal,” he tweeted.

Stalin launched the “pension increase initiative” by ordering the hike in assistance from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 to three transwomen. Poor transwomen who are above 40 years of age is an eligibility criterion.

The CM extended the “free breakfast scheme” for 56,098 more students of 433 schools, spread across 36 urban local bodies, including Tiruchirappalli corporation and Tiruvannamalai municipality areas. Stalin launched the breakfast scheme for government schools students on 15 September 2022.

Stalin also laid the foundation stone for the construction of 44 buildings in government hospitals for purposes including buildings to house labs and intensive care units and upgradation of hospitals across Tamil Nadu at a cost of ₹1,136.32 crore.

He launched the “free housing patta scheme” for differently-abled persons on priority basis and gave away pattas to five beneficiaries.

The chief minister also handed over appointment orders to recruit to various government departments. Ministers and top officials participated.

‘Stalin’s seven promises’

These seven schemes cover education, sanitation, marginalised people, child-woman welfare, social development, and social justice — the key fields for development, he said. He added that more initiatives are in the pipeline.

He appealed to officials and government employees to implement them, as per the identified goals.

At DMK’s Tiruchirappalli rally, Stalin had, on 7 March 2021, unveiled a 10-year vision document for development and identified economy, agriculture, water management, education, health and sanitation, urban development, rural infrastructure, and social justice as the seven fields that were key to ensuring Tamil Nadu’s growth.

Promising development in all these spheres, he had christened his assurances as “Stalin’s seven promises” and asked cadres to reach out to people on such assurances before the Assembly election that year.

Also Read: MK Stalin assures relief measures for Cauvery delta farmers 

(Disclaimer: Only the headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed)