Pinching the poor’s pocket: Fund crunch cuts MGNREGS to 43 days in Tamil Nadu
Experts tell DT Next that the Union government’s reluctance to clear outstanding wages or increase fund allocation in the budget will have a cascading effect on millions in rural Tamil Nadu
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CHENNAI: Insufficient funding from the Union Government for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme has resulted in more than 50 days of the guaranteed 100 days of employment being unavailable to eligible households in Tamil Nadu this year.
This fiscal year has, in fact, recorded the lowest average employment days for beneficiaries in the last five years.
According to government data, the average number of employment days provided per household stands at 42.39 this fiscal year, compared to nearly 60 days last year. A total of 91.67 lakh active workers in TN have been left stranded as the government has failed to guarantee the promised 100 days of work, as guaranteed by the Act.
“The decline in the average days of employment is directly linked to insufficient fund allocation from the Union Government,” said a highly placed source in the government. “CM Stalin had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13, requesting the release of outstanding wage dues amounting to Rs 1,056 crore.”
He pointed out that TN had achieved 23.36 crore person-days of employment, which went beyond the budget allocation of Rs 20 crore until January 1 this year, and urged the PM to increase the target to Rs 35 crore person-days. However, no positive outcome has been seen so far.
“The outstanding funds for wages and materials have now exceeded Rs 2,000 crore. We’ve only received Rs 140 crore a few days ago, which was used to clear pending salaries for staff,” the source stated. “The government has been unable to pay workers’ wages for the last couple of months.”
Amid a funding shortfall of Rs 9,754 crore for this demand-driven scheme, the Union Government did not increase the fund allocation in the revised estimate budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025. The Centre has allocated Rs 86,000 crore, as stated in the budget estimates.
Experts opined that the Centre’s reluctance to increase the budget or clear outstanding wage dues will have a cascading effect on rural India. “This is not a promising sign, as the Union Government is attempting to derail a scheme that serves as social security for the poor and marginalised sections of rural India,” said Nandhakumar Siva of Thannatchi, an NGO working with unskilled labourers and local bodies.
Concurring with him was CPI’s Erode district functionary S Mohan Kumar, who added: “The BJP government’s approach will push the poor and unskilled labourers in rural areas into the vicious cycle of microfinance to meet family expenses.” Kumar, along with his party workers, had picketed the BDO office on February 6.
