Women Upset Over Panchayat Merger With Corporation

Say amalgamation of 8 panchayats with Dindigul city corporation would render them ineligible for jobs under MGNREGA

- SARAVANAN MP @Dindigul

WIDOWS and elderly women working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme are upset over the merger of eight village panchayats to the Dindigul City Corporation as it would render them ineligible for jobs under the scheme.

The MGNREGA Act, 2005 specifies that only persons in rural segments will be allotted work. After incorporation into the corporation, the villages will be classified as urban areas. The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) estimated that around 9,000 women are registered under MGNREGA across the eight village panchayats.

According to the latest G.O., Adiyanothu, Anaipatti, Balakrishnapuram, Chettinaickenpatti, Kurumpatti, Mullipatti, Pallapati and Seelapadi village panchayats would be merged with the city corporation. As per district records, over 17,000 persons are registered from these village panchayats under MGNREGA.

All India Democratic Women Association (Dindigul) secretary V Pappathi said, "Widows and elderly women living here are facing injustice. Though the wages are meagre, it offers the families some support. They cannot easily migrate to another village to register for the scheme."

Speaking to TNIE, Kurumpatti Panchayat president V Murugan said, "Around 1,900 persons are registered under the scheme in my village. When such a proposal was issued, we directly petitioned the CM Cell and Dindigul District Administration.