Chennai, Jan 27 Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, accompanied by DMK Deputy General Secretary and MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi to request the immediate release of pending dues under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
In a post on the social media platform X, Thennarasu stated, “The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister on January 13 to ensure the immediate release of Rs 1,056 crore to the state government.”
The delegation emphasised the urgent need for the Union Ministry of Rural Development to release the pending funds without further delay. Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department Additional Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi also accompanied Thennarasu and Kanimozhi during the meeting.
Earlier, on January 13, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging the release of outstanding wage dues amounting to Rs 1,056 crore under MGNREGS. In his letter, the Chief Minister highlighted that the state had exhausted its allocated wage funds for the year, resulting in pending payments to workers over the past two months.
The Chief Minister stated, “During 2024-25, Tamil Nadu achieved 23.36 crore person-days of wage employment as against the Labour Budget target of 20 crore person-days as of January 1.” He further mentioned that the state government had submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Rural Development on November 23, 2024, to revise the Labour Budget for Tamil Nadu, increasing it from 20 crore person-days to 35 crore person-days.
Stalin pointed out that nearly 91 lakh workers from 76 lakh households are actively participating in MGNREGS in Tamil Nadu. He added that 86 per cent of the employment generated under the scheme benefits women, while 29 per cent of the workers belong to SC/ST households. Additionally, about 1 lakh differently-abled workers are provided employment every year under the scheme.
The Chief Minister emphasised that MGNREGS is a critical wage employment programme for rural areas and reiterated Tamil Nadu’s leadership in implementing the scheme effectively.
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