Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday announced a series of initiatives that would be launched under the 'Amma' brand.
As many as 500 'Amma gyms' and 500 'Amma Parks' will be built for the public in rural areas of the state. The initiative is being planned to ensure good physical and mental health of the youth.
The 'Amma Gyms' will cost Rs. 50 crore and 'Amma Parks' would cost Rs. 100 crore, the Hindu reported. The parks would benefit women and children and would offer recreational facilities and walking paths.
According to the Tamil Nadu government, the aim of launching these schemes is to provide basic infrastructure in rural areas of the state. Some of the schemes are:
Stay homes
Among some of the other initiatives, 23 short-stay homes will be built in state-run hospitals in a bid to help those families of the patients admitted to the hospitals. The stay homes, built in all districts of the state (including Chennai), would cost Rs. 11.62 crore, Press Trust of India reported.
Implementing LEDs
The state government plans to implement other initiatives such as replacing street lights with LEDs to bring down the electricity bill of the government. "This year, street lights in Dindigul Corporation and all municipalities will be changed to LED under public-private partnerships at Rs. 320 crore outlay," Jayalalithaa told PTI.
Building Anganwadis
The Tamil Nadu state government will set up 1,000 Anganwadi centres (courtyard shelters) at a total cost of Rs. 70 crore to benefit the children, pregnant women in rural areas. About 20 lakh saplings will be planted over 10,000 kms at a total cost of Rs. 195 crore, the Hindu added.
With an outlay of about Rs. 800 crore under the Tamil Nadu Roads Development Scheme, around 900 kms of mud roads would be asphalted, 1,400 km of damaged tar roads would be replaced and 1,200 km of tarred roads (which need repair) would be revamped.
During Jayalalithaa's last tenure, the Amma canteen chain, which was introduced, turned out to be a big hit. This has prompted the state government to opt for more outlets under the 'Amma brand.'
