Chennai: The Union govt has sanctioned ₹2,100 crore to Tamil Nadu under VB G RAM G to clear the pending MGNREGS wage dues.The move comes amidst the centre – state sparring over delay in fund allocation and changes in the rural job scheme’s funding pattern. The state assembly had passed a resolution in January against VB G RAM G and demanded uninterrupted fund allocation. Chief minister M K Stalin had alleged that more than ₹2,000 crore wage dues were pending for the state under MGNREGS. Officials in the MGNREGA Division in the Union Ministry of Rural Development said ₹2,100 crore meant for wages has been cleared now. “The sanction covers residual dues for 2025-26 as well as wages for additional man-days already approved for the state,” an official said, citing an internal communication issued in this regard.The funds will be released in a phased manner starting the second week of February, officials said. However, the communication was silent on allocation of ₹1,087 crore pending under the material component. “We are expecting that the ministry will sanction funds to clear the residual dues towards material components by the end of Feb,” the official added.Tamil Nadu exhausted its sanctioned 12 crore man-days nearly 2 months ago and since generated an extra 2.40 crore man-days as of February 1. “We requested 9 crore additional man-days for the fourth quarter to meet rising demand for work. The ministry approved only 7 crore, and funds were sanctioned accordingly,” said another official, requesting anonymity. The reduced approval is expected to curtail employment opportunities for rural workers over the next 2 months.So far this fiscal, the Centre released ₹3,995 crore towards wages and ₹1,262 crore for material components under the scheme.
