The AIADMK Government in Tamil Nadu, which is celebrating its fourth anniversary, achieved a major milestone early this week by completing construction of 2,40,000 houses for the rural poor under the Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Green House Scheme (CMSPGHS).
The news come as a perfect gift for former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who is set to return back to Fort Saint George following her acquittal by the Karnataka High Court in the Disproportionate Assets case.
Sources said Jayalalithaa may take oath as Chief Minister on Saturday, but the final word has to come from Amma (as Jayalalithaa is commonly addressed by the cadre as well as bureaucrats in the State).
A party Press release said Jayalalithaa would garland the statues of AIADMK founder and former Chief Minister MG Ramachandran and the DMK founder CN Annadurai on Friday. This will be Jayalalithaa’s first public appearance since she returned to Chennai on October 21, 2014 after getting bail from the Supreme Court in the Disproportionate Assets case.
The Madras University Centenary Hall, the venue where the swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place and Fort Saint George (Government Secretariat) are being spruced up in preparation of Jayalalithaa’s return as the Chief Minister. The road leading from the Poes Garden residence of the AIADMK general secretary to Secretariat is being repaired on a 24X7 basis, reminding one of the days when she was the CM.
The CMSPGHS is Jayalalithaa’s dream project and was launched immediately after her swearing-in as CM for the fourth time in May 2011. When she declared, during the release of the party manifesto for the 2011 Assembly elections, that if voted to power she would build 300,000 green houses for those without a roof over their heads, Jayalalithaa’s rivals scoffed and belittled the scheme as unrealistic and foolish.
However, by constructing 2,40,000 houses in four years, the AIADMK Government is all set to meet the target. According to Information Secretary M Rajaram the Government has spent Rs 4,680 crore on the project.
As per the scheme, all BPl card holders possessing a 300 sq ft plot would get green houses for which the Government would spend Rs 1,80,000 per home. The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Authority would provide solar rooftop systems for each unit at a subsidized rate of Rs 30,000. The scheme has been implemented in all districts except Chennai.
Each house boasts of a living-cum-dining room, bed room, kitchen and toilet. The power needs are met by the solar panel installed on the roof. The beneficiaries are free to make alterations in the house at their own expense.
Paul Raj and Achu Selvi, a middle-aged couple in Somarasampettai village in Trichy district had never thought that they would ever own a house of their own even in their wildest dreams. Both of them are daily wage earners working in farm lands on a meagre salary. In 2011 they were staying in a rented one-room thatched house. Now the couple with their two children has shifted to a brand new Green House of their own.
“We had to pawn my jewellery to buy this 300 sq ft plot, a pre-requisite to get the Green Home. Thanks to Amma, we have our dream house,” Selvi told The Pioneer. Taking into account inflation and hike in the prices of construction material, the State Government is periodically revising the budget allocation for the Green House scheme, described as the first-of-its-kind in the country.
