Jayalalithaa scraps free colour TV scheme

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday scrapped the free colour TV scheme, introduced by her predecessor and political rival M Karunanidhi.

"The remaining TVs are to be given to schools, orphanages, and primary health centres," she said in the Assembly on Friday.

The free colour TV scheme was one of the highlights of the DMK manifesto for the 2006 assembly elections, which the party won. The DMK government distributed over 1.62 crore television sets at a cost of roughly Rs 4,000 crore. Initially, the TVs were given to families below poverty line but later it was given to every household, especially in rural areas.

In the run-up to the recent elections, both DMK and AIADMK promised freebies such as free mixie, grinders and laptops, among other things.