Tamil Nadu Rural Workers Receive Rs 278 Average Wage Despite Official Hike

Rural employment scheme workers across Tamil Nadu are receiving significantly less than the stipulated daily wage despite a recent revision, according to government records. Although the daily wage under the VB-G RAM G scheme was increased from Rs 336 to Rs 345 starting July 1, the average wage actually paid out to workers stands at Rs 278, falling below the national average of Rs 281.

Workers attribute the shortfall to a critical deficit of technical personnel needed to measure and evaluate completed tasks. Under the scheme's regulations, wage payments are directly linked to the quantum of work completed against prescribed norms. Accurate measurement on the ground by technical overseers is mandatory to determine the final payout.

Due to the shortage of field-level overseers, workers allege that their physical output is not being properly measured, resulting in arbitrary evaluations and reduced payments.

Tamil Nadu currently employs 2,000 overseers tasked with assessing the output of 79.28 lakh active workers spread across more than 12,500 village panchayats. Under this distribution, a single overseer is responsible for monitoring six to seven panchayats, with each individual panchayat managing between 10 and 12 active worksites.

The staffing shortfall has created significant operational strain at the block level. In the Keelaiyur union located in Nagapattinam district, a local worker highlighted that only three overseers are assigned to manage 27 panchayats. Workers reported that it is impossible for such a small team of overseers to inspect worksites across every panchayat, leading to wages being fixed arbitrarily and leaving most workers with around Rs 275 per day.