DINDIGUL
More than 1,200 members of All India Farmers’ Association thronged the Collectorate here on Tuesday demanding extension of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to town panchayats also as farm work was the prime livelihood activity in 90% of the town panchayats in the district.
Addressing the gathering, Association State president A. Lazar said people in 21 of the 23 town panchayats in the district were depending on farm work. With no agricultural activities, they had been struggling for survival now.
Except for Pannaikadu, which had several estates, and Chinnalapatti, where handloom weaving was the prime activity, all town panchayats had agriculture as the only activity, he said.
Mr. Lazar said only Tripura, Odisha and Tamil Nadu had the classification of town panchayats in the country. Tripura had extended the MGNREGS to all town panchayats.
Monsoon failure and acute water crisis had paralysed agriculture in almost all areas in Tamil Nadu for the past two years, leaving thousands of farm labourers jobless. Hence, Tamil Nadu too should extend the MGNREGS to town panchayats keeping in mind the survival of agricultural workers, he added.
The government should also increase the number of working days from 100 to 150 under the scheme and revise wages from ₹140 to ₹200.
If the government failed to extend the scheme to town panchayats, the Association members would intensify the agitation. Farmers in Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Namakkal and Salem would submit petitions en masse to the respective Collectors in the coming days in this regard. Farmers would also lay siege to Fort St. George in Chennai, he added.
Later, the protesters submitted petitions to officials, pressing for their demands.
