
CHENNAI: CM MK Stalin on Monday urged PM Narendra Modi to advise the Union Ministry of Rural Development (UMRD) to immediately release outstanding dues amounting to Rs 1,056 crore so that the pending wages under MGNREGS could be disbursed.
The CM also urged the PM to advise the ministry to approve the state government’s proposal to revise and increase the Labour Budget for TN from 20 crore person-days to 35 crore person-days. This request was sent to the ministry on November 23, 2024, and is awaiting sanction.
Stalin, in his letter to the PM, explained that due to the complete exhaustion of wage funds based on the Labour budget, wages could not be disbursed to MGNREGS workers for the past two months.
“Tamil Nadu has always been a forerunner in the implementation of MGNREGS at the national level since the inception of the scheme and has been one of the top-performing states under the various parameters of employment generation,” the CM underscored.
He also said in Tamil Nadu, nearly 91 lakh workers pertaining to 76 lakh households are actively participating in the MGNREGS works. “During 2024-25, Tamil Nadu has achieved 23.36 crore person-days of wage employment as against the labour budget of 20 Crore person-days up to January 6,” he added.