The Times of India 18.08.2009

New counselling centre to solve family disputes

TNN 18 August 2009, 05:19am IST

CHENNAI: In order to minimise the interference of police in family disputes and to settle them amicably, the city police on Monday opened a family counselling centre at the city police commissioner's office with the co-operation of the social welfare board. The centre, which will work on all days from 10 am to 5 pm, will provide counselling to parties who approach the police with family disputes. It will have three women counsellors from the social welfare department.

Talking to the media after inaugurating the centre today, police commissioner T Rajendran said that a majority of the 60-odd complainants he met on a daily basis were involved in family disputes. "We consider such disputes as a social issue. Most of these issues could be amicably settled without the interference of the police through counselling," CoP said. The police would only interfere when the complainants remain adamant even after the counselling.

Social welfare board chairperson Rokkiah Salma said the interference of the police in minor family disputes was against societal norms. "Most of such issues can be solved through counselling. We have 66 such counselling centres across the state and now we have opened one inside the city commissioner's office," Salma said.

She said the counselling centre was not just for women. Men facing family problems could also approach the centre.

Sorurce : The Hindu Date : 17.06.2009

Construction work on 19,765 disaster-resistant houses begins

Special Correspondent

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

TAKING STOCK: (From left) Revenue Minister I. Periyasamy, Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, Agriculture Minister Veerapandi S. Arumugam and PWD Minister Durai Murugan at a meeting to review World Bank projects, at the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday.

CHENNAI: Construction of 19,765 disaster-resistant houses in the coastal districts of the State has begun, Finance Minister K. Anbazhagan said here on Tuesday. Work on 1,976 houses had been completed.

This is part of a two-phase project to build 41,411 houses to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. A total of 11,539 houses covered under the Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY) is part of the overall figure.

In the initial phase, the government sanctioned the construction of 24,411 houses at a cost of Rs.772 crore under the Rajiv Gandhi Rehabilitation Package. Of these, 18,056 houses will be built by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department and 3,585 houses by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board.

In the second phase, 17,000 houses will be built with World Bank assistance, Mr. Anbazhagan told a State-level steering committee meeting.

Giving an account of tsunami relief and rehabilitation works, he said that in the first phase 39,684 houses had been constructed as on May 31 and 37,904 of them handed over to beneficiaries. Of these houses, 30,302 were built with the help of non-governmental organisations and 9,382 houses by the government. A sum of Rs.268.46 crore was spent on providing basic amenities for these houses. The Minister reiterated the government’s plan to construct multi-storeyed tenements at Oggiyam Thoraipakkam-Kannagi Nagar, Tiruvottiyur, Semmanjeri and Thazhankuppam for tsunami-hit people. The dilapidated multi-storeyed tenements between Nochikuppam and Srinivasapuram would be demolished and, in their place 5,856 new tenements constructed.

As for other infrastructure works, 90 per cent of the restoration work on Cuddalore and Nagapattinam harbours had been carried out. In all, works to the tune of Rs.5,074.09 crore were being implemented in 13 tsunami-hit costal districts under various projects, drawing funds from different sources and multilateral agencies. In three years, works involving expenditure of Rs.1,175 crore have been completed, Mr. Anbazhagan said. Among those who attended the meeting were M.K. Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister; Durai Murugan, Veerapandi S. Arumugam, and I. Periasamy, Ministers; K.S. Sripathi, Chief Secretary; and N. Sundaradevan, Principal Secretary/Commissioner, Revenue Administration.