The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : All villages in State to have basic facilities in two years

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Tuesday, Jul 29, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

All villages in State to have basic facilities in two years

Special Correspondent

Chief Minister distributes jeeps to panchayat union chairmen

— Photo: M. Vedhan

FOR SPEEDY WORK: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi handing over the vehicle keys to Andipatti Panchayat Union president R. T. Malarvizhi at a function held in Chennai on Monday. Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin is in the picture.

CHENNAI: In another two years all villages in the State will have basic facilities, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said here on Monday.

Speaking after distributing jeeps to panchayat union chairmen at a function organised by the Rural Development Department, Mr. Karunanidhi said the DMK government had launched the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (All Villages Anna Renaissance Scheme) aimed at providing basic facilities to villages.

The plan was to cover all villages over a five-year period. This scheme was well on course to achieve its objectives. This year, work on providing basic facilities had been taken up in 2526 village panchayats at a cost of Rs.504 crore.

On giving jeeps to the 385 panchayat union chairmen, he said this was for the first time in the country that a State was giving vehicles to elected representatives at the panchayat union level. So far, vehicles were given to the unions, but this was meant for the use of the office and not exclusively for the union chairmen.

Mr. Karunanidhi expressed the hope that the vehicles would go a long way in implementing programmes at the local level in an effective manner.

Praising the Rural Development Department and Local Administration Minister M.K. Stalin for the many schemes that the department had launched successfully, Mr. Karunanidhi remarked in a lighter vein that he was tempted to give up the Chief Ministership and take up the responsibility of Local Administration.

The Tata Spacio Gold vehicles were procured at a cost of about Rs.16 crore.

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