The State government's share in the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), a Centrally-sponsored scheme, will hereafter be two-thirds of the unit cost of each house.
In his budget speech, O. Panneerselvam, Finance Minister, told the Assembly that the unit cost of Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) houses would be stepped up to Rs. 1 lakh from Rs. 75,000. Consequently, the share of the State government would go up from Rs. 41,250 to Rs. 66,250 per house. The Union government's share would be Rs. 33,750. “During 20112012, we will take up 1,00,553 houses under IAY,” the Minister said.
On the project of solar powered-green houses, he said 60,000 houses would be built at a cost of Rs. 1,080 crore during 20112012 in rural areas for the benefit of the houseless poor. The unit cost of each house measuring 300 sq.ft. under this scheme would be Rs. 1.80 lakh.
The Minister also announced that the Tamil Nadu Village Habitation Improvement Scheme (THAI) would be launched this year to improve the basic amenities through convergence of various programmes. Referring to complaints of the adverse impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on the farm sector, he said the government had proposed to avoid taking up works under the scheme during peak agricultural operations after consulting with the Union government.
“The peak agricultural season will be determined by District Collectors based on local conditions. The government will also explore the possibility of tying up this scheme with the works executed in farmers' fields, after studying such experience in other States,” the Minister said, adding that this year's outlay for the scheme was Rs. 3,472 crore.
He said the allocation for the Member of Legislative Assembly Constituency Development Scheme would go up to Rs. 2 crore per MLA, an addition of Rs. 25 lakh.
