DISTRIBUTION OF FREE COLOUR TELEVISIONS

DISTRIBUTION OF FREE COLOUR TELEVISIONS :

• In order to expand General Knowledge and to enhance Entertainment Value to Women, the Government have decided to implement the Scheme of Distribution of Free Colour Television, to families who do not possess Colour Television. Families holding Ration Cards and no Colour Television will qualify to receive Free Colour Television. It has been enumerated that 1.75 Crore families are in this category. An Advisory Committee was formed including All-party MLAs for the successful implementation of the scheme.

• To ensure transparency in the selection of beneficiaries, Committees were also be constituted locally to select the beneficiaries at the level of Village Panchayats I Corporations I Municipal Corporations and Special Grade Village Panchayats and also a Technical Expert Committee was formed for procurement of Colour Televisions.

• In pursuance, the Government have ordered in the first phase to distribute 30,000 Colour Televisions in all the districts on 15.9.2006, the birthday of Arignar Anna at all the Periyar Memorial Samathuvapurams where all caste people are living together, and to all the scheduled tribe families living in the Nilgiris district and also to the people living in Slum Clearance Board tenements one each in South and North Chennai.

• This scheme has been completed successfully on 16.9.2006. The Government also directed the distribution of 25 lakhs of Colour Televisions in the second phase in the year 2007,
  approximately 10,000 Colour Televisions per each assembly segment. This scheme was
  launched by Hon’ble Chief Minister on 15.02.2007. 16,51,284 Colour Televisions have been distributed to the qualified beneficiaries till 02.09.2007 in all the districts.

• One Deputy Collector at the district level and other supporting staff at the taluk level have been appointed to implement the scheme. For the effective implementation of the schemes, 164 Bolero Jeeps with required fuel were being allotted to the Deputy Collectors and Tahsildars at a total cost of Rs.7.70 crores and Rs.6.25 crores had been allocated to meet contingent expenditure.