Tamil Nadu govt. is going to provide Rs. 1,000 and gift hampers to all ration card holder families for Pongal. The gift hamper would each contain 1 kg raw rice and sugar, raisins, cardamom and sugarcane. These ingredients are used to prepare the sweet dish – Pongal. This Pongal gift is for 2.01 crore family cardholders in the state. This Pongal gift will cost Rs. 2010 crore to the state government.
This monetary assistance will be given to people in addition to the gift hamper scheme which was announced earlier at a cost of Rs. 300 crore. CM will launch this monetary assistance scheme very soon. This is for the 2nd time in the history of the state that the govt. provides such a lump sump amount as Pongal gift. Thai Pongal festival would be celebrated b/w 15 to 18 January 2020.
Previously the government had given Rs. 100 per family apart from gift hampers in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
TN Govt. Pongal Gift 2020 – Rs. 1,000 Monetary Assistance
The state govt. of Tamil Nadu is going to distribute gift hampers containing raw rice, sugar, raisins, cashew nut, cardamom and sugarcane to all ration card holder families to celebrate Pongal 2020 festival. In addition to this, a cash support of Rs. 1,000 per family will also be provided for the celebration of harvest festival Pongal. This monetary assistance scheme would be applicable to the entire state.
In the recent destruction caused by Cyclone Gaza, the state govt. seeks Rs. 2,709 crore as immediate relief and Rs. 15,190 crore for permanent restoration works from the central government. Governor thanked the central govt. to sanction Rs. 900.31 additionally under National Disaster Relief Fund for immediate relief and asked for more help to restore affected houses and restore livelihood of the people.
TN also has Cauvery River Water issues with Kerala and Karnataka and the state govt. is pursuing legal options to protect its interests. Governor lay emphasis on the fact that river water issues can be resolved through mutual trust and understanding. Governor of Tamilnadu has also mentioned the delay in release of funds from the central govt. to the state government. This includes IGST dues of Rs. 5,000 crore for 2017-18 and urges the center to release the funds as soon as possible.
The state govt. is also going to introduce environment-friendly electric buses in metro cities such as Chennai, Madurai and Coimbatore. TN govt. will notify the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority after which the integration of several public transport systems will become possible. Moreover, the state govt. will also introduce new policies for start-ups and for aerospace and defense industrial sectors.
The state govt. is consistently working on the comprehensive restructuring of transport corporations with help from German agency KfW. Moreover, fleet of buses would be replaced by the BS-IV compliant vehicles and electric buses. Tamil Nadu Housing & Habitat Development Project extension proposal is being placed to transform slums beyond Chennai, Thiruvallur & Kancheepuram to rest of the State. For this purpose, the state govt. is seeking assistance from the Asian Development Bank.