For the past few months, the skies around the indigent villages of Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu reverberated to copious invocations-pleas for rain. The heavens remained intransigent till March 13. Amidst a resounding burst of thunder and through a ripe patch of clouds, a white helicopter descended to earth. The gods had relented; a goddess appeared.

RAISING HOPES: By the time Jayalalithaa completes her tour she may have promised Rs 10,000 crore worth of welfare projects

"Karuna thay", as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J. Jayalalithaa is known among lesser mortals, had come bearing a bagful of welfare schemes and a tranche of promises. Tirunelveli is not the only district to be deluged with Amma's magnanimity. With her Z-category security and official entourage in tow, Jayalalithaa has been heli-hopping through districts across the state in the past two months, announcing schemes and promising welfare measures. By the time she had covered eight districts, the promises added up to Rs 2,300 crore. More visits will follow the budget session of the Assembly. When the district tours draw to a halt, Jayalalithaa is expected to have pledged development and welfare schemes worth more than Rs 10,000 crore. By her own admission, the chief minister has inherited an empty treasury, and according to the white paper released last year, the state's total fiscal deficit stands at Rs 6,000 crore. So how is she planning to finance these schemes?

Says state Finance Minister C. Ponnaiyan: "We will make arrangements. The tax collection has been looking up and funds are coming from various agencies. Every scheme will be implemented." The budget Ponnaiyan presented on March 21, shortly after Jayalalithaa wound up the first leg of her district visits, listed out the measures to mobilise additional resources.

The resource mobilisation package, including a levy of 12.5 per cent on telephone rentals, a compounding tax on cable operators and a green tax on old vehicles, is expected to bring in additional revenue of only Rs 430 crore. This will leave an uncovered deficit of Rs 865.15 crore in the budget. Though Ponnaiyan observed that the Centre had endorsed the state's request for an economic restructuring loan from the World Bank, he added, "We had assumed that Rs 1,000 crore would be released as the first tranche of this support in this budget."

In other words, nobody knows where the money for Jayalalithaa's pet plans is going to come from. Senior officials say while some of the schemes will be implemented as part of Central projects and some disbursements will be made from the state funds, many projects will remain on paper. "Which chief minister has not made hollow promises?" asks a former bureaucrat. "The previous chief minister also made many promises. Jayalalithaa is doing the same," he adds. Those who have observed the government function over the years say it has been an accepted practice to make big promises and do little. "After the initial euphoria, who is going to remember the big words meant only to create a feeling of well-being?" says the official.

Whether the promises are fulfilled or not, for now Amma's visits are creating a big impact. For a woman who has perfected the art of moulding pomposity into a halo for herself, it is not too much of an effort. True to her penchant for majestic appeal, Jayalalithaa has been moving from one district to another in a helicopter. On the ground, red carpets are rolled out and elephants lined up to salute her. Buntings, banners and loud speakers sing the praises of "Puratchi Thalaivi Jayalalithaa". Full-page advertisements have filled up local newspapers with Namathu MGR, the AIADMK's official organ, listing out the promises in great detail.

In Tirunelveli, the stage from where Jayalalithaa announced Rs 439 crore worth of welfare measures was equipped with air-conditioners. Elsewhere, the chief minister bought a woven image of herself for Rs 1,700 from a woman artisan belonging to a self-help group.

Though many a leader has appreciated the need for such grandiosity to etch one's image deeper in the hearts of the faithful, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President E.V.K.S. Elangovan is not amused. "Even as questions are being raised about the sources of money for implementing such mega-projects, she is spending public money for publicity," says Elangovan. The Congress leader has pegged the total expenditure of the chief minister's sojourns at Rs 25 crore and plans to file a public-interest petition against the extravagant spending.

Though the AIADMK leaders are unwilling to go on record regarding the source of funding for Amma's tour, they maintain that the party units and well-wishers have contributed to the expenses incurred by the reception committees in various districts. "The newspaper advertisements were released by party units and individuals as a show of affection towards Amma," says a party activist from Tiruchi. Meanwhile, there are allegations that panchayat presidents were forced to cough up Rs 2,000 each for the grand reception arrangements.

The mode of Jayalalithaa's transport has also added fuel to Elangovan's charges. Counters a senior minister: "What's wrong with the chief minister travelling by a chopper owned by the Government? She would otherwise have had to travel in an aircraft with the security people and officials, which would have cost the Government even more. It is not our fault that the previous government did not utilise the official helicopter." When the DMK was in power, the auditor-general's report had stated that the government had incurred unnecessary expenses on the maintenance of the chopper which remained under-utilised.

Surprisingly, not many questions were raised in the Assembly in the budget session about the chief minister's promises and the means to realise them. With Elangovan involved in the infighting in his party and the Assembly reliving the ugly scenes in 1989 when Jayalalithaa was allegedly assaulted by DMK leaders, her lofty promises may soon be forgotten.

Not in the villages of Tirunelveli, where people are still praying. For rain. And for a new god.