CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced that it would set up a Migrants Resources Centre to address the needs of Tamil Nadu natives who live abroad, adding that it would also set up a revolving fund of `1 crore to bear the expenses for repatriation of Tamil Nadu natives stranded abroad or for transportation of bodies of the deceased.
The measures were announced in the Tamil Nadu Assembly as a measure to be taken in 2014-15 by the Public Department, which is headed by CM J Jayalalithaa. Both the announcements come in the wake of a number of incidents in the recent past of the government bearing the expenses in such scenarios. The expenses have so far been borne out of the Chief Minister’s General Relief Fund or other such funds, and the government has now set up a dedicated fund for the purpose.
The Public Department is also in line to help expand a number of schemes that are being implemented for the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families. These include an increase in allowance, expansion of interest subsidy on assisted loans, special allowance to children of ex-servicemen who enter the uniformed services and other such schemes.