CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday inaugurated 19,037 solar-powered green houses for poor families in rural areas, built at a cost of `342.67 crore, through videoconferencing at the Secretariat.
Till 2013-14, 1.8 lakh houses were taken under the Chief Minister’s Solar Powered Green House Scheme, which is designed to address the housing issue as well as to promote green energy. For the current year 2014-15, `1,260 crore has been allocated for taking up another 60,000 houses. Such a scheme is being implemented for the first time in the country.
Apart from the green houses, the Chief Minister inaugurated many school buildings, Anganwadi centres, ration shops, community cooking halls, and bridges constructed by Rural Development Department at a cost of `80.43 crore. As many as 1,523 houses built for the people living in the coastal areas under the Tsunami Reconstruction Project and panchayat union office building at Pudukottai, built at a cost of `1.54 crore were among those inaugurated by her.
The Chief Minister also launched the presentation of `1 lakh each incentive fund to 4,000 federations of Self Help Groups. Four panchayat-level SHG federations at Pillayarnatham (Dindigul dt), Koolanaickenpatti (Coimbatore dt), Kammalapatti (Salem dt) and Chinnamattarapalli (Krishnagiri dt) received the incentive from the Chief Minister on Friday.
Besides, 30 village panchayat-level SHG federations have been selected for a cash prize of `50,000 each for making all its members literates. Of this, the SHG federations at Kodimangalam (Maudrai dt), Sethirabalapuram (Nagapattinam dt) and Chennamarareddipatti (Tuticorin dt) received the cash award from the Chief Minister.
Slum Clearance
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister inaugurated 1,502 residential tenements in a seven-storey building constructed at a cost of `90.12 crore, at Perumbakkam by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board. These tenements are being allocated for the people living in unhygienic and objectionable places in the city on the recommendation from the Chennai Corporation.