Cuddalore, July 15 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched the ambitious 'Ungaludan Stalin (With You, Stalin)' initiative in Chidambaram, Cuddalore district on Tuesday. The scheme aims to deliver a wide range of government services directly to citizens at their doorstep, especially those in need of urgent redressal or assistance.

The programme kicked off with the Chief Minister inaugurating a special grievance redressal camp, part of a statewide initiative involving over 10,000 such camps -- 3,768 in urban areas and 6,232 in rural regions.

The scheme, scheduled to run until November, is designed to cover all districts and panchayats in Tamil Nadu.

As part of the campaign, more than one lakh trained volunteers visited households across the state in advance to distribute awareness materials, collect grievances, and inform residents about the dates and services available at the camps.

These camps offer services from 13 departments in urban areas and 15 departments in rural areas, covering 43 and 46 types of services, respectively. Citizens can apply for various welfare schemes, land records, caste and income certificates, corrections in official documents, old age pensions, and more.

Revenue Secretary P. Amudha stated that all applications received through the camps would be resolved within 45 days. If citizens are unsatisfied with the outcome or if their application is rejected, they will have the option to reapply or seek clarification.

To ensure smooth execution and coordination, four senior IAS officers -- J. Radhakrishnan, Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Dheeraj Kumar, and P. Amudha -- have been appointed as official spokespersons and supervisory authorities.

In Chennai alone, 400 camps were scheduled across 200 wards, while in Coimbatore, the programme is being implemented in four phases with 334 camps. Similarly, Nilgiris district will host 146 camps in three phases.

The launch ceremony at Chidambaram was held with tight security, attended by thousands of people and party cadres.

CM Stalin also paid floral tributes at the memorials of K. Kamaraj and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar as part of the inaugural event.

While the government has positioned the scheme as a transformative citizen-service model, opposition parties, including the BJP's Tamilisai Soundararajan, have criticised it as a political gimmick ahead of the 2026 elections.

/IANS