ERODE: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said an announcement on Rs 1,000 honorarium for woman head of families per month will be made in the state budget in March, and all poll promises made by the DMK will be fulfilled within three years.
Seeking votes for Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan from the Erode East electorate on the last date of campaigning for the bypoll on Saturday, Stalin said, “We are not saying that we have fulfilled all the promises made by us during the assembly poll. We have fulfilled 85% of our promises. We are also executing several projects that were not part of the DMK’s poll promise.”
The CM also spoke extensively about various welfare schemes implemented by his government, including free ride for women in state-run buses, free breakfast to students in government schools and free electricity to farmers.
“If the AIADMK had left the state’s financial condition in a good position, we would have fulfilled all our promises immediately after assuming power. But the AIADMK government had not only left behind empty coffers, it had also left the state with a huge debt burden. We are setting right the state’s financial position and also fulfilling all the poll promises made to the people,” the CM said.
State finance minister PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan had already clarified that Rs 1,000 honorarium is only for poor households. The government is formulating the criteria for identifying eligible households for the scheme, the FM had said.
According to official data, of the total 2.17 crore ration cards in the state, 1.1 crore are Priority Households (PHH) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) cards meant for BPL (Below Poverty Line) families issued based on norms prescribed under the National Food Security Act. Paying Rs 1,000 per month to these households may cost the exchequer around Rs 12,120 crore per annum.
The opposition AIADMK has targeted the DMK over delay in implementing the scheme, saying the party not only failed to fulfill its poll promises even 22 months after assuming power but has also increased property tax and electricity tariff manifold.
Aiadmk goes to Ro
The AIADMK on Saturday filed a complaint with the RO saying the CM has violated poll norms by making announcement on Rs 1,000 scheme.