The Hindu : Governor unveils 15-point programme

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 10, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Governor unveils 15-point programme
By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MARCH 9. Even as he announced the pruning of the approved Plan outlay for 2001-02 from Rs.6,040 crores to Rs.5,200 crores in view of the financial crisis, the Governor, P.S. Ramamohan Rao, today unveiled an ambitious 15-point programme which aimed to be a road map for the State Government in the next four years.

In his first address to the Assembly, the Governor promised that the Government would simultaneously pursue the ``agenda for development'' while taking necessary action to rectify the fiscal imbalance.

The Chief Minister's 15-point programme intended to create ``opportunities for a healthy and productive life for all'' by providing social and economic security.

A WTO Cell would be constituted to study ramifications of trade liberalisation under the aegis of the WTO, especially on the agriculture and textile sectors and small-scale industries.

Secretaries to Government would be appointed as monitoring officers of major schemes at the district-level. Each secretary would be assigned one district. In addition, a Minister would be assigned to one or more districts to provide leadership. A new university, which would focus on the economic and social uplift of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes and Most Backward Classes, would be set up in Vellore, and named after Thiruvalluvar.

Identifying infrastructure development and poverty alleviation as thrust areas in 2002-03, he said quality infrastructure would lead to the growth of agricultural and industrial sectors. The Government would retain its primary and direct role in poverty alleviation, he added.

A new department of Special Initiatives and Projects would be formed to process innovative schemes which came from different sources. Functioning under the direct supervision of the Chief Minister, it would seek to tap the ``intellectual potential'' of Tamil Nadu.

The Governor's Address also saw the attendance of the DMK president, M. Karunanidhi, for the first time in this Assembly. However, he walked out within a few minutes along with his party colleagues, protesting the hike in fares and tariffs, ``irregularities'' in the Andipatti by-poll and ``victimisation'' of political opponents.

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