TN plan to hike minimum wage under NREGS

Tamil Nadu government today proposed to hike the minimum wages for beneficiaries of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) from Rs 80 to Rs 100.

In his announcement for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department for the year 2009-10, deputy chief minister MK Stalin told the state assembly that  the state will make the changes in accordance with the Minimum Wages Act.

"The present amount of Rs 80 was fixed in 2005 and since four years have passed,the state government will make efforts to revise the sum to Rs 100," he said on the UPA's flagship programme that guarantees 100 days of work for beneficiaries in rural areas.

He said the state was also making efforts to increase the number of workdays from 100 to 150. Tamil Nadu was leading other states in the implementation of NREGS. A sum of Rs 1963 crore had been allocated for the programme in 2009-10 as against the Rs 1722 crore in 2008-09,he said.

To help redress grievances in the scheme, a new Helpline will be introduced this year wherein complaints can be made with district collectors, he said.

Among others, a sum of Rs 1325 crore received as Central grants towards roads development would be used to upgrade more than 5000 km of roads in the state, he said adding one lakh new women self-help groups (SHG) will be formed in the next two years.