<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Tamil Nadu Governor K Rosaiah on Thursday said “serious efforts” were on to bring back Finnish mobile handset manufacturer Nokia to revive its operations and that the State would continue to implement the ongoing welfare schemes, including the low cost food chain, ‘Amma Unavagam’.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“The State government is taking very serious efforts for revival of the Nokia plant along with the component manufacturers and the Chief Minister recently deputed a team of officials to Taiwan to hold discussions with global companies like Foxconn. The issues pending with the government of India have also been taken up at the highest level to facilitate the revival,” he said.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Poll promises<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">In the inaugural address to the 15th Tamil Nadu Assembly after the AIADMK was voted back to power for a second consecutive term, the Governor said the government would continue to be led by policy initiatives like ‘TN Vision 2023 Document’, an initiative launched by the ruling party in its previous (2011-16) tenure.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Mr. Rosaiah said the government began implementing poll promises in right earnest immediately after coming to power."This government is committed to improving transparency in administration and will establish the institution of Lokayukta through appropriate enactment once the proposed amendments to the Lokpal Act are made by Parliament.”<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">He said that on assuming charge, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on day one waived loans of small and marginal farmers, provided 100 units of free power to domestic consumers and increased gold allocation to eight grams from under ‘Thalikku Thangam’ scheme for women beneficiaries.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">She also increased free power to weavers and reduced the working hours of the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC). Welfare schemes under the Amma brand such as Amma Cement, Amma Drinking Water and Amma Salt would continue.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Power projects would be expedited and in the next five years, new power generation capacity of 13,000 MW of thermal power and 3,000 MW of solar energy would be added to the State grid.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Metro rail<div data-style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">
<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Mr. Rosaiah said the government would take up the implementation of Phase-II of the Chennai Metro Rail at the earliest.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“Before 2017-end, services will be commenced in the entire metro (Phase-I) network,” he said, adding that services between Little Mount to the airport and from Alandur to St. Thomas Mount would be inaugurated soon.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Fishermen issue<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">On the fishermen issue, he said the government would continue to urge the Centre to prevail upon Sri Lanka to work out a lasting solution to the problem. He reiterated the government's stance that it would continue to strive for retrieval of Katchatheevu.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Similarly, efforts would be made to lift the ban on bull taming sport ‘Jallikattu’ and get the Mullaiperiyar dam water level raised to 152 feet, i.e the Full Reservoir Level. The government would strive to get an order from the Supreme Court to constitute a Cauvery Management Board and a Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">“This government will continue to seek accountability of those who perpetrated genocide on innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka during the civil war,” Mr. Rosaiah said.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Unlike the previous occasions, the entire Opposition listened to the Governor’s address with rapt attention.<p data-style="outline: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 20px; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly M.K. Stalin (DMK), his party colleagues and members of the Congress sat through the 35-minute address.<div data-style="outline: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; position: relative; color: #3b3a39; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">