CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami's teaser releasing three election assurances, with a strong imprint of the ruling government's flagship schemes for women and a commitment to housing for all, is expected to cost the exchequer more than Rs 38,000 crore annually if the opposition party captures power and decides to take the promises seriously.
Calculating the budgetary impact of some announcements, presented as AIADMK's people-centric model, would be difficult, given that the number of women heads of ration card families is not readily available at present, and extending the men's free bus travel option would take time to evaluate costs. But the three schemes alone are set to cost a whopping share of the Budget, even if calculated at the minimum costs involved.
The present DMK regime is spending over Rs 20,000 crore for the three schemes. The Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme, under which a monthly cash assistance of Rs 1,000 is provided to 1.3 crore women beneficiaries, costs Rs 13,721.50 crore annually, as per the 2024–25 Budget documents. If the assistance is increased to Rs 2,000, as announced by AIADMK chief Palaniswami, the annual allocation would be more than double, taking the annual cost above Rs 27,614 crore. The Leader of Opposition referred to sharing the aid with all women heads holding ration cards, rather than 'eligible' beneficiaries under the incumbent, potentially making the cost much higher than Rs 27,614 crore.
Palaniswami has also announced that the Vidiyal Payanam scheme would be extended to male passengers. With this extension, the total annual expenditure, including women and third-gender passengers, is estimated to increase to Rs 7,200 crore. This amount has to be provided by the State government as a subsidy to the Transport Department.
In the housing sector, the DMK government is implementing the Kalaignar Kanavu Illam scheme with an annual budget allocation of Rs 3,500 crore. If the AIADMK follows the same model, a similar allocation would be required.
According to Budget documents, the three schemes together currently account for an annual allocation of Rs 20,821.50 crore under the DMK regime. However, if the AIADMK implements the schemes as per Palaniswami's announcements, the annual expenditure for these three schemes alone could rise to Rs 38,314 crore.