Brand Amma has no limits it seems. After Amma canteens, water, salt, mixies, grinders, laptops and what not, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has announced Amma parks and Amma gyms.
Tamil Nadu government will set up 500 'Amma Gyms' for youth and develop as many 'Amma Parks' for the public in rural areas.
In a suo motu statement in the Assembly, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said 500 'Amma Gyms' would be set up in rural areas to promote physical and mental health of youth, at an estimated total cost of Rs 50 crore. Each gym would be set up at a cost of Rs 10 lakh, she said.
Jayalalithaa also announced setting up of 500 'Amma Parks' in village panchayats with all amenities, including play equipment for children, toilets, cement benches for seating and paved pathways for walking at a total outlay of Rs 100 crore.
Other initiatives announced:
1. In an initiative to help kin of those admitted as in-patients' in state-run hospitals, 23 'short stay homes' will be built at a cost of Rs 11.62 crore in districts, including Chennai, where those attending on patients could stay back.
2. The Chief Minister unveiled a host of other initiatives, including converting incandescent bulbs used for street lighting into energy efficient LED to bring down spend on electricity consumption bills by 35 per cent and steps to completely do away with open defecation.
3. As part of efforts to fully do away with open defecation in town panchayat areas, this year 90,150 lavatories would be built at a cost of Rs 108.18 crore and 2,620 more toilets will be built under community toilet plan at a cost of Rs 17.03 crore.
4. Jayalalilthaa said under MNREGA and Swachh Bharat Mission this year, 15.17 lakh toilets would be built in rural households.
5. Referring to deployment of 'sanitation guards' in 9,000 village panchayats under solid waste management programme who segregate garbage, she said the plan would be extended to the remaining 3,524 village panchayats.
6. At an outlay of Rs 800 crore, under the TN Rural Roads Development Scheme, 900 km of mud roads would be asphalted, 1,400 km of damaged tar roads repaired and 1,200 km of tar roads needing repairs on a lower scale refurbished.
7. She said 1,200 small irrigation tanks would be refurbished at a cost of Rs 300 crore, which would help increase water table and storage levels.
8. On dairy development, the Chief Minister announced setting up of an industry to manufacture polythene film for making sachets to pack milk in Villupuram district at a cost of Rs 82.54 crore.