Chennai: On her first day in office, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday implemented her major poll promises of free rice to ration card holders and BPL families, gold for 'mangalsutra' for girls for marriage and effected a top-level bureaucratic overhaul.
She ordered distribution of 20 kg free rice per month to ration card holders and 35 kg of rice to BPL families.
Old-age pension has been doubled from Rs 500, maternity leave for government staff hiked to six months from three months and financial assistance to fishermen during fishing ban period raised from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 as Jayalalithaa signed relevant files soon after being sworn in.
She also hiked the marriage assistance for poor people from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.
Jayalalithaa said she was serious in fulfilling the poll promises and has created a new ministry 'Special Programme Implementation' for this.
Turning to bureaucracy, the Chief Minister removed Chief Secretary YS Malathi, Home Secretary K Gnanadesikan and Chennai Police Commissioner T Rajendran.
Malathi has been replaced by Devendranath Sarangi, Chairman of Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation and Gnanandesikan made way for Sheela Rani Chunkath, who was Principal Chairperson of Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation.
Rajendran was replaced by JK Tripathy, former additional director general of police, Prisons, as Chennai Police Commissioner. Rajendran has been shunted out as ADGP, Prisons.
In her campaign for the April 13 Assembly polls, Jayalalithaa had attacked the DMK rule over "deteriorating" law and order and a day ahead of her swearing in as Chief Minister, declared that her first priority would be to restore law and order.
Jayalalithaa has also picked senior IAS officials as her secretaries.
Sheela Priya, Additional Chief Secretary and Director of Economics and Statistics, will be Additional Chief Secretary to the Cheief Minister while Rama Mohana Rao, Agriculture Secretary, and KN Venkatraman, Personnel and Admnistrative Reforms Secretary, will be principal secretaries.
A Ramalingam and Reeta Harish Thakkar will be secretaries to the Chief Minister.
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