Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin has served as the 8th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu since May 7,2021. As the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),he has implemented various initiatives focusing on social welfare,education,environmental sustainability,and administrative efficiency. His tenure is marked by programs such as the Naan Mudhalvan Scheme for skill development,the Green Tamil Nadu Mission to enhance the state's green cover,and the Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme to address child nutrition. Additionally,his government has emphasized social justice through reforms like the appointment of individuals from all castes as temple priests.
One of the key achievements of Stalin as the Chief Minister is the 'Ungal Thoguthiyil Mudhalamaichar'[1] (Chief Minister in your Constituency),which is a robust grievance redressal service set up to resolve petitions and problems raised by the constituents. The timely redressal system took the state by storm as over 2.30 lakh out of 4.57 lakh grievances had been addressed by Stalin in his first 100 days of taking office.
The department originated from a programme 'Ungal Thoguthiyil Stalin',which was initiated by DMK President Stalin during his election campaign. Stalin had collected grievances from the citizens and assured them that their issues would be addressed in 100 days once he took office. Experts and journalist Govi Lenin called the scheme a direct reflection of the DMK's core principle,'Makkalidam Sel' (Go to the People) coined by the party's founding member,C. N. Annadurai.[2]
Tamil Nadu's first agriculture budget
Stalin released Tamil Nadu's first ever agricultural budget on 14 August 2021,which was dedicated to farmers protesting against the farm laws passed by the Union Government. The one of a kind budget was prepared after consulting farmers from 18 districts of the state and it predominantly aimed at increasing the cultivable land from the existing 60 per cent to 75 per cent. At present,about 10 lakh hectares of land is under cultivation and the agriculture budget promises to increase it to 11.75 lakh hectares.[3]
Under the budget,the newly launched ‘Kalaignarin Anaithu Grama Orunginaindha Velan Valarchi Thittam’,has been introduced to convert wasteland into cultivable land.[4]
Illam Thedi Kalvi
Stalin launched the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’scheme on 19 October 2021,notably India's largest volunteer-based education program”,where over 3.3 million students across 92,000 habitations are being taught by 200,000 women volunteers for 90 minutes every day.[5][6]
Domain experts and Data scientists have praised the ingenuity of the scheme stating that over 24% of the total recovery from learning loss can be attributed to the ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’sessions and that the recovery has been a lot more progressive among the disadvantaged group.[7]
Innuyir Kappom - Nammai Kakkum 48
Stalin launched ‘Innuyir Kappom-Nammai Kakkum 48’on 18 November 2021 through which the State government will bear the expenses of emergency care for accident victims for the first 48 hours.[8] Rolling out the scheme at Stalin said that the government was paying special attention to reducing road accidents,preventing fatalities and improving road safety. The scheme is aimed at reducing deaths due to road accidents.[9] A total of 609 hospitals including 201 government hospitals and 408 private hospitals are linked to the scheme. All persons injured in road accidents whether they are covered or not under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS),or even those who belong to other States or countries that occur in Tamil Nadu limits would receive treatment for the first 48 hours free of charge. As many as 81 treatment packages have been identified for accident victims in the hospitals where they shall be were admitted for the first 48 hours with a ceiling of ₹1 lakh per individual. One of the key highlights of the scheme is that the government would bear the emergency treatment expenses for the first 48 hours in private hospitals,as majority of the lives could be saved if treated appropriately within 48 hours.[10]
Chief Minister's Dashboard
Stalin launched the ‘CM Dashboard Monitoring System’at his office.[11] On 23 December 2021 which will enable him to track all Welfare schemes,including the status of their implementation,fund allocation and the number of beneficiaries. The dashboard is set to help in proper monitoring,more efficiency,elimination of delays and prompt decision making. It will also update the Chief Minister on the water storage level in key dams,rainfall patterns,daily report on crimes,progress of housing schemes,employment trends,civil supplies in the State.[12] The dashboard will display the status of pleas and representations made on the Chief Minister Helpline and under the ‘CM In Your Constituency’scheme.
Naan Mudhalvan
Stalin launched the ‘Naan Mudhalvan’scheme on 1 March 2022;this aims to equip about 10 lakh youth across the State annually with skills that will help them realise their talents for the benefit of the country. He also launched a new portal for this scheme.[13] The scheme aims to identify,train and offer career and academic guidance to talented students in government-run and State-aided educational institutions. It also aims to offer spoken English lessons to enable students to face interview panels successfully. The scheme will offer training capsules in coding and robotics to keep pace with technological advancements. Psychological counsellors and medical doctors will offer guidance on nutrition,physical fitness and overall development of the student's personality.[14]
Green Tamil Nadu Mission
Stalin launched the Green Tamil Nadu Mission [15] on 24 September 2022,that aims at increasing the green cover in the state from 23.7% to 33% in the next ten years. The mission will facilitate tree planting initiatives,online seedlings purchase via the Green Tamil Nadu Mission portal.[16]
Pudhumai Penn
Stalin launched the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance scheme titled 'Pudhumai Penn' at a function in Chennai on 5 September 2022,in the presence of Delhi chief ministerArvind Kejriwal. The scheme was transformed from Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Memorial Marriage Assistance Scheme to the Moovalur Ramamirtham Ammaiyar Higher Education Assurance Scheme after recognising that in higher education,the enrolment ratio of girls from government schools was quite low. During the event Kejriwal unveiled 26 schools of excellence and 15 model schools set up by the Tamil Nadu government. Under Pudhumai Penn scheme,girl students,who studied from Class V to Class XII in state government schools would be paid a monthly assistance of ₹1,000 till they complete their graduation or diploma. Through the scheme,about six lakh girls would be benefited every year. The state government allocated ₹698 crore in the 2022–23 budget for the scheme.[17]
Stalin also announced that 25 schools run by municipal corporations would be elevated as Schools of Excellence in the first phase at a cost of ₹171 crore. The classrooms in these Schools of Excellence would be modernised and art,literature,music,dance,sports among others would be promoted among students.[18]
Chief Minister's Breakfast Scheme
Stalin launched the ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast Scheme’on 15 September 2022 to prevent hunger and nutritional deficiency in children. The scheme is set to improve the nutritional status of students,eliminate deficiencies such as malnutrition and anaemia,and encourage children in poor households to attend schools.[19]
The cause of concern for anemia among children as a major health problem in Tamil Nadu was highlighted in the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS) (2019–21) report.[20] Stalin's Breakfast Scheme is set to minimise,if not eliminate,this inadequacy. The breakfast scheme will be implemented at a cost of ₹33.56 crore in more than 1,500 government-run schools across the state where over 1.14 lakh primary government school children will benefit from it. It is Stalin's hope that the education-nutrition matrix will be an inspiring model for other states.[21]
Governing Council on Climate Change
Stalin set up a 22-member Tamil Nadu Governing Council on Climate Change (GCCC) on 23 October 2022. Montek Singh Ahluwalia,economist;Nandan M Nilekani,co-founder and chairman of Infosys Board;Erik Solheim,[22] Sixth Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme;Dr Ramesh Ramachandran,founder-director of National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management;G Sundarrajan,co-ordinator of Poovulagin Nanbargal) and Nirmala Raja,Chairperson,Ramco Community Services are among the members.[23]
The GCCC council has been formed to provide a policy directive to the Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission,advise on climate adaptation and mitigation activities,provide guidance to the Tamil Nadu State Action Plan on climate change and guide the implementation strategy on climate action.[24]
The terms of reference of the GCCC includes providing guidance to the Climate Change Mission and long-term climate-resilient development pathways,strategies and action plan which will help improve livelihoods,social and economic well-being and responsible environmental management.
The council will periodically monitor outcomes and deliverables based on the strategies being followed. Besides,it will give a continued and sustained push for research,collaboration,and interdisciplinary work,in close coordination with researchers and policymakers.
The council will evaluate the efficacy of existing policies on climate change and learn from sustainable practices across the country and the world for suitable adaptation. The State Environment,Climate Change and Forest Department Secretary Supriya Sahu will be the convenor of the council.[25]
It is imperative to note that,Tamil Nadu has been spearheading several path-breaking initiatives in the field of climate change and has set up three key missions viz.,Tamil Nadu Green Mission,Tamil Nadu Climate Change Mission and the Tamil Nadu Wetlands Mission.
Egalitarianism and social justice in Tamil Nadu
Stalin initiated the process to appoint persons of all castes (contrary to the hereditary Brahmin priests) as archakas (priests) for the temples in the State on 15 August 2021,and assured steps will be taken to appoint those trained by the government during the previous DMK government.[26]
Stalin maintained that the move will fulfill the dream of former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi,and Periyar who wanted people of all castes to become temple priests. As a move seen as controversial by many,this policy however garnered him acclaim for it being the right step at a social revolution and combating discrimination at all levels.[27]
↑ "NFHS-5reports"(PDF). Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
↑ "Free Breakfast Scheme". Hindustan Times. 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
↑ "Archived copy". Twitter. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 28 October 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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