CHENNAI: Unfazed by criticism from opposition DMK against the crackdown on land grabbing, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said the "swift and stringent" action against land grabbers has restored the confidence in the government and police among people who "expect and deserve a corruption free service delivery system".Chairing the first conference of Collectors and police officers after she came to power in May, she said the government has embarked on a course of putting down anti-social elements and rowdies in the state."Swift and stringent action against land grabbers has restored confidence in the state government and in the police among the general public. This action will be followed up by enabling the restoration of lands and properties to the original owners through due process of law", she said.Asking the top officials to rise to the occasion and be part of the system, the Chief Minister said good governance was the sine qua non of effective administration and corruption was the biggest hindrance to achieving the goal of good governance."People expect and deserve a corruption free service delivery system," she said and asked the top civil and police officials to clean up the system and improve service delivery.Jayalalithaa also talked about various measures taken by her government in the field of agriculture, health and public distribution system to improve the living conditions of the poor.Over the past few months, several DMK leaders, including some former Ministers, had been arrested on land grab charges.The state government had also set up separate anti-land grab cells to deal with the cases, provoking the DMK to accuse the government of following vendetta politics.Turning to the agriculture sector, Jayalalithaa said despite the implementation of several programmes and spending crores of rupees on it, the income level of farmers was not registering any perceptible improvement."The GDP contribution of the agriculture sector is still low, compared to the percentage of population depending on agriculture," she said, adding, her government accorded the highest priority to the sector.Initiatives such as adopting scientific agronomic practices, popularising better water use efficiency, farm mechanisation and strengthening the post harvest infrastructure would certainly ensure a "second green revolution", the Chief Minister said.Flagship programmes like distribution of milch cows, goats and sheep to poor families would strengthen the mixed farming system in the rural areas and assure sustainable income to rural households, she said.Expressing serious concern over rising prices of essential commodities, Jayalalithaa said government was implementing the free rice distribution scheme under the universal PDS at a "huge subsidy cost" to insulate the poor and downtrodden from the adverse impact of price rise.She told officials to strictly deal with pilferage and ensure that bogus cards were weeded out and measures taken to prevent the diversion of essential commodities.On the law and order situation, she said the intelligence network should be strengthened to keep a constant vigil on extremism and fundamentalism."The expectations of the people are the prime focus driving this government", the Chief Minister said and added that her government would ensure that the poor and the downtrodden were provided with the necessary assistance to lead a decent and dignified life
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