Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday announced rehabilitation measures for fishermen affected by projects undertaken by the State.
The ship building yard-cum-minor port complex at Kattupalli and water desalination plant in Minjur are some of the projects.
In a statement, Ms. Jayalalithaa said, fishermen near Kattupalli — where the Rs. 4,000-crore ship-building L&T project is being undertaken — had put forth many demands citing the said project that would affect their livelihood. On the basis of their demands, 220 directly-affected persons had been given jobs.
The Chief Minister said, in view of the fact that fishing activities in fifteen villages were affected due to this project and the water desalination project in Minjur, the previous DMK government had signed an agreement in July 28, 2010, for providing jobs to affected persons.
But no further action was taken to implement the agreement, Ms. Jayalalithaa said. After the AIADMK came back to power in 2011, greater attention was paid to problems of the affected community, she said.
In the first phase, 131 persons living in surrounding areas were given jobs by L&T, last year.
On January 1 and 2, a meeting was held by ministers, government officials and local fishermen to interact with L&T officials.
The Chief Minister said, Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), which has a 3 per cent stake in the Kattupalli project, would act as a bridge between L&T and fishermen to ensure promises of jobs were fulfilled.
She said L&T would provide jobs to 120 persons, 60 of who would be appointed right immediately, while the remaining would be recruited after three months’ training.
After L&T establishes a training centre in Kattupalli for local fishermen, 600 of them would be trained in batches.
Besides, steps would be taken to increase the daily wages of employees in L&T. Measures would also be taken to provide training to the remaining 900 fishermen in fisheries and tourism departments. Based on their educational qualifications and experience, they would be employed in various departments. Some would also be appointed to the Tamil Nadu Special Police Force.
The Chief Minister also announced that bus services would be introduced between Pazhaverkadu and Parry’s Corner immediately.
