The State government on Monday announced that fair price shops would function on the first two Sundays of every month to make it easier for households where both the husband and wife work, to avail of their services. The government also announced that it would start 100 mobile fair price shops to overcome the problems of connectivity and distance for residents of hill regions.
These and other announcements were made in the Assembly on Monday by Co-operation Minister Sellur K Raju and Food Minister R Kamaraj, as demands for grant for the Co-operation, Food and Consumer Protection Department were tabled in the House.
The change in schedule of fair price shops would make shopping easier for employed couples. The shops would now function on the first and second Sundays of every month, while the first and second Fridays would be holidays instead.
The other major announcement was the setting up of 100 mobile fair price shops to cater to the residents of hilly regions, with the aim of extending the benefits of the fair price shops to them by overcoming barriers of connectivity and distance. The mobile fair price shops are to be set up with financial assistance from the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO). The ministers said these schemes had a price rise-battling component in them. Raju also announced that the government would make a grant of a combined `3.25 crore to cover the grant of share capital in co-operative societies for 10,000 members of Adi Dravidar and tribal communities, 1,000 women and 2,000 differently abled persons, at the rate of `2,500 per person. This move is aimed at providing an increased opportunity of availing loans from co-operative societies for the beneficiaries.
Raju told the Assembly that deposits in co-operative banks had grown from `26,898.16 crore to `36,942.2 crore since the current AIADMK government took charge, and said this figure was testament to the growth the sector has seen under this administration.
He also announced that 50 ATMs would be set up for co-operative banks in 23 districts at a cost of `7.5 crore.
Other announcements made by Raju and Kamaraj included a number of infrastructure development, building and services creation projects for warehouses, co-operative society offices, co-operative society stores and fair price shops.