New cars, ₹75,000 monthly driver allowance: Tamil Nadu CM Vijay's big announcements for MLAs

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay announced a series of sops for all MLAs in the state, including new cars to help them travel to their constituencies and address the people's needs. Speaking in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Vijay also announced monthly allowances for the MLAs.

Key announcements for MLAs

These included a ₹75,000 allowance towards driver, fuel and maintenance expenses and a ₹25,000 grant to hire an assistant for constituency-related work. While justifying the announcement, Vijay said that the MLAs need to travel frequently to their constituencies to address people's concerns and discharge their responsibilities.

He said that government vehicles would ensure "transparent and corruption-free governance," while noting that several first-time MLAs come from humble backgrounds and might require official vehicles to conduct their duties effectively.

Besides this, he announced the hike in the annual health insurance coverage for the elected representatives from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh.

The announcements came after VCK MLA Jothimani said that they can't work effectively without the required logistics support and sought new cars for the MLAs, whereas a senior DMK MLA said that successive governments ignored similar requests in the past citing financial constraints.

“The government provides vehicles to municipal and union chairpersons, mayors and deputy mayors, but MLAs do not enjoy the same facility,” the MLA was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Other key announcements by Vijay

Additionally, the government announced ₹351 crore to expand student admission capacity in government medical colleges.

A total of 6,098 new seats will be created to strengthen the healthcare workforce. These include 660 BSc Nursing seats, 1,925 additional seats in nursing colleges and schools, 2,778 seats across 12 paramedical courses, and 735 additional seats in medical courses.

The government will also set up seven new government nursing colleges.

In Perambalur, a 400-bed, world-class multi-speciality hospital will be established at an estimated cost of ₹300 crore. The facility will offer advanced medical treatment and healthcare services.

Vijay also announced an increase in Aavin’s milk procurement price from ₹38 to ₹41 per litre. He said the decision was taken despite the state’s financial constraints to ensure milk producers receive a fair and remunerative price while supporting their livelihoods.