Stalin urges Centre to release outstanding wages

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday urged the Centre to release the pending wage amount of Rs 1,678.83 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to Tamil Nadu so that payments can be made to 24.21 lakh workers.

Stalin, who wrote to Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Giriraj Singh in this connection, said that Tamil Nadu has provided 86 per cent of work under MNREGS -- an important scheme that ensures the livelihood of people in rural areas -- to women. The chief minister said the state was also at the forefront at the national level in providing employment to people with disabilities under the scheme.