NEW DELHI, November 2: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to spend INRs 120 million immediately for improving the basic amenities in camps in the state housing Sri Lankan Tamils refugees.

Ministers and District Collectors (Indian equivalents of Government Agents in Sri Lanka) will visit 115 camps in the state and submit their findings to Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi by November 10 on the conditions prevailing in the camps.

On the basis of their feedback, the government will work out the modalities for spending INRs 120 million.

Decisions to this effect were taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Karunanidhi in Chennai on Monday. Eleven Ministers and senior government officials attended the meeting.

Briefing reporters of the decisions of the meeting, KKSSR Ramachandran, Handlooms, Textiles and Backward Classes Minister, said the Chief Minister clearly conveyed to the Ministers and the officers that the refugees should be regarded as Tamils, not as merely refugees.

Ramachandran said 73,241 persons belonging to 19,340 families are presently living in 115 camps in 26 districts while there are 31,802 other people belonging to 11,288 families living outside the camps and with the approval of the authorities.

After the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government took over in May 2006, a scheme for improving the amenities in the camps was drawn up on the basis of a visit by the Ministers to the camps. The scheme, envisaging the works for INRs 160 million, was sent to the Central government for approval.

As the Centre’s clearance has not yet been received, the State government set apart INRs 50 million for 2009-2010.

The Minister denied suggestions that some refugees are being harassed in special camps. Asked about the release of those refugees booked in petty cases, he assured reporters that he will take up the issue with the chief minister.

He explained how the DMK regime doubled the amount of cash payments to the refugees and other facilities/concessions given to them.

The state government has doubled its spending on Sri Lankan refugees in the past three years. In 2005-2006, the Budget provision for the Rehabilitation Department was INRs 257.8 million while it was INRs 446.2 million in 2008. This year, a sum of INRs 553.4 million has been earmarked.

Among those who attended today’s meeting were: MK Stalin, Deputy Chief Minister; K Anbazhagan, Finance Minister; Arcot N Veeraswami, Electricity Minister; KS Sripathi, Chief Secretary; K Gnanadesikan, Principal Secretary (Finance); D Jothi Jagarajan, Public Secretary; M Mutia Kalaivanan, Rehabililitation Commissioner, and Jaffar Sait, Inspector General of Police (Intelligence).