Jayalalithaa means business, goes by manifesto

On the first day at her office, J Jayalalithaa cleared seven files.

All were related to her party's pre-poll promises -- 35 kg free rice for green ration card holders, enhanced wedding assistance for women with a diploma, doubling of monthly assistance for senior citizens to Rs 1,000 from Rs 500 and increasing the monthly dole of fishermen during fishing bans from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.

This was followed by her first official press briefing, where she promised to meet reporters every week.

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As expected, Jayalalithaa reverted to Fort St George as the Tamil Nadu secretariat.

The previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government spent around Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) on a new secretariat-cum-assembly building.

The 63-year-old All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader also set up a Department of Special Programme Implementation headed by a minister to fulfil all the promises made in the party manifesto.

At the press meet, she said the state's financial position had been ruined in the last five years and her immediate priorities would be to restore fiscal stability and bring back rule of law.

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As a follow-up, Jayalalithaa also called for a high-level meeting with state finance department officials.

Similarly, she asked all her Cabinet colleagues to review their respective departments.

The first Cabinet meeting of the AIADMK government, which was held on May 23, decided that the gates of the Mettur Dam would be opened for irrigation on June 6 and the uniform system of school education sought to be introduced by the previous regime would not be implemented in the current academic year.

The Cabinet also made some policy decisions to be announced in the governor's address to the Assembly scheduled for June 3.

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As part of finding a solution to the woes of the Tirupur knitwear industry, the chief minister chaired a meeting of the ministers concerned, after which it was decided to hold a tripartite meeting of representatives from the industry, farmers and the government.

The Rs 12,000-crore (Rs 120-billion) Tirupur textile industry, which accounts for 80 per cent of the country's knitwear production, has been facing protests from environmentalists over alleged water pollution.

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The Tamil Nadu chief minister also urged the Centre to supply an additional 30,000 tonnes of Di-Ammonium Phosphate during June for the Kuruvai cultivation.

Signalling a move to break the monopoly in the cable network business, the chief minister said her government was planning to revive the state-run Arasu Cable TV Corporation started in July 2008 by the previous DMK government.

"We will revive the Arasu Cable Corporation soon," she told reporters during her second press meet on Tuesday.

Her government also found a solution to the ongoing strike by employees of Arasu Rubber Corporation in Kanyakumari.

During a dialogue with the employees on May 24, it was decided to increase their salary by Rs 250.