Chief Minister O Panneerselvam on Wednesday chaired a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat here, during which recent suicides of farmers due to drought was discussed.

The meeting was attended by Ministers, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan, Adviser to Tamil Nadu Government Sheela Balakrishnan and other senior officials.

The Chief Minister also announced the free dhoti and sari scheme costing Rs. 486.36 crores to the exchequer ahead of Pongal festival. While 1,62,42,717 saris and 1,62,24,223 dhotis will be distributed, bicycles will be given to 6.19,282 students of Class XI at a cost of Rs. 244.96 crores.

On Tuesday, the Chief Minister announced that a gift hamper comprising one kilo raw rice and one kilo sugar, cashew nuts, and sugarcane to all rice cardholders in the State. It would be distributed before the festival through PDS outlets.

Panneerselvam also said special teams of Ministers and senior IAS officials would be constituted to study the drought situation in the State. The teams would tour districts and submit a report to the Government on January 10.

The State’s move to set up high-level teams comes against the backdrop of growing number of suicides of farmers due to crop failure and demand from the opposition to declare the State as drought-hit and seek financial assistance from the Union Government.