Some come in cars to take DMK’s free CTVs

The long queue snaking along Vembuli Amman Koil Street in KK Nagar looked like a symbol of social equality: crumpled lungis blended with branded trousers, tattered saris mixed freely with designer wear. Unmindful of the heat and dust, Chennai's affluent waited patiently alongside the city's poor for their turn to receive free colour TV sets distributed by the Tamil Nadu government. 

Some came in cars and some with assistants to carry home the sets. ''When the government is offering it free, why not take it? Of course, we already have two colour TVs at home. We'll keep this one in our second bedroom,'' said Priya (name changed), a homemaker whose husband runs two industrial units in Ambattur. ''However, this will not influence my vote in the elections. I'll take a decision only after evaluating who is good and who is bad.'' 

What began as a scheme for the poor has now been extended to both haves and have-nots, with assembly elections round the corner. An official said the government order limited the free distribution to households that did not have a colour TV set, but roughly 83% of 1.96 crore family card holders in the state would now be covered under this scheme. The mega-sop is expected to cost the exchequer Rs 4,000 crore. 

By December, the DMK government in Tamil Nadu hopes that around 1.63 crore households would have received free colour TV sets, implying that more than six crore people would have benefited. This is nearly 90% of state's projected population of 6.8 crore. 

Keen on covering as many households as possible, government recently announced that 10 lakh more TV sets would be procured to meet the requirement. The government machinery has also been geared up to complete distribution process by the year-end. 

Though government in its policy note tabled in the assembly stated the ''unique scheme is to sensitize people on the policies and programmes of government and to increase their aspiration level'', the objective is far from achieved. Several families, mainly those below poverty line, have chosen to sell off the TVs.