PMK urges TN govt to allocate adequate funds for rural employment scheme

CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday urged the Tamil Nadu government to allocate sufficient funds for the rural employment guarantee scheme, calling the state's recent allocation of Rs 100 crore an ineffective gesture that falls drastically short of what is required to provide additional work days.

In a statement, the PMK leader stated that while the Tamil Nadu government’s objective to provide 150 days of employment annually under the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) scheme is commendable, the funds earmarked for the initiative are grossly inadequate.

"Although the initial announcement of providing 150 days of work featured in the TVK election manifesto, the central government recently modified the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to increase guaranteed work from 100 to 125 days per year," he said, adding, "to cover the remaining 25 days, the state government issued an order allocating Rs 100 crore."

Anbumani questioned the feasibility of implementing the poll promise with such a "minuscule" fund.

Stating that 81.08 lakh families in Tamil Nadu have registered under the scheme, with 69.11 lakh families actively seeking and receiving work, Anbumani said the breakdown of daily expenses per worker includes a direct wage of Rs 271.38, material and skilled labour costs of Rs 208.64, and administrative costs of Rs 53.

"Together, the daily cost per beneficiary amounts to Rs 532.02, shared by the central and state governments," he said and claimed that to provide employment for 69.11 lakh active families across the state, the government requires Rs 367.68 crore per day.

Pointing out that since the additional 25 days of employment are a state initiative, the entire financial burden must be borne by the Tamil Nadu government, he said providing 25 days of extra work would require at least Rs 9,192 crore, making the allocated Rs 100 crore merely 1.08 per cent of the required budget, which is a sum insufficient to fund even a single day of work for all beneficiaries.

The former union minister called upon the state government to hold negotiations with the Centre to secure the required funds while simultaneously increasing its own budget allocation to uplift rural livelihoods.