Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani on Friday appealed to the Central government to release the pending 14th Central Finance Commission grant and performance grant, said a release from the district administration.
The Minister asked the Union Minister for Agriculture, Family Welfare, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Narendra Singh Tomar, to release the pending grant of ₹ 548.76 crore for rural local bodies and the performance grant of ₹ 705.62 crore during a video conference held in the afternoon.
Mr. Velumani also sought the Centre’s permission to pay wages in cash to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in compliance with personal distancing norms and pay money right at the work place, closer to their houses.
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The Centre had permitted 27 crore man days’ work under the MNREGA and allotted ₹ 1,995.75 crore as wage component and ₹ 665 crore as material component. With the money, the State government had paid workers ₹ 665 crore for their work till March 31, and there was no pending amount, Mr. Velumani informed Mr. Tomar, the release said.
The Minister briefed the Union Minister about 19,214 self-help groups producing 45.71 lakh masks, 76,000 litre sanitiser and 57,000 litre hand-wash liquid, the progress made under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the release added.