Chennai, June 28 (IANS) Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately announce whether it will implement the Centre’s new 125-day rural employment scheme, warning that the continued uncertainty has left lakhs of rural workers in the state unsure about their livelihood.

In a statement issued, Ramadoss pointed out that with only two days remaining before the scheme comes into force on July 1, Tamil Nadu is yet to make its position clear, even as 19 states and Union Territories have already issued notifications for its implementation.

The Union government has revamped the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) by extending the guaranteed employment period from 100 to 125 days annually.

For the new programme, the Centre has allocated Rs 95,692 crore nationwide, including Rs 7,957.57 crore for Tamil Nadu.

The PMK President noted that Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Puducherry have already announced plans to roll out the scheme.

Telangana and Karnataka, however, are still examining whether to implement it or legally challenge certain provisions before the Supreme Court.

Telangana has also proposed introducing a separate state-funded employment scheme to ensure rural workers are not affected if the legal challenge proceeds.

He added that Tamil Nadu, too, has the right to decide whether to implement or oppose the scheme, particularly since the revised framework increases the state government’s financial contribution to 40 per cent while granting the Centre greater powers in deciding the nature of permissible works.

Opposition parties have said that these changes dilute the rights and autonomy of state governments.

According to Anbumani Ramadoss, if Tamil Nadu adopts the new scheme, the state would have to contribute around Rs 5,305.04 crore, taking the total available funds to Rs 13,262.61 crore.

Based on the current wage expenditure of Rs 479.49 per person per day, the allocation would generate about 27.68 crore person-days of employment.

However, with nearly 69.76 lakh rural households seeking work, each family would receive only around 40 days of employment on average, significantly lower than the average provided in recent years.

He also cautioned that if Tamil Nadu chooses not to implement the scheme, only the remaining Rs 440.90 crore from the current MGNREGS allocation would be available, sufficient to provide barely 1.3 days of employment per beneficiary.

Thereafter, the state would have to finance rural employment entirely from its own resources.

The PMK President urged the state government to announce its decision without further delay.

If it opts against the Centre’s scheme, Anbumani Ramadoss said it should immediately unveil an alternative programme fulfilling the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government’s election promise of providing 150 days of employment annually to rural families.

–IANS

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