1 crore women to receive Rs 1,000 monthly dole: CM
CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday announced that one crore women head of families comprising domestic workers, fisherwomen, women pavement vendors and women construction workers among others would benefit from Rs 1000 monthly dole to be distributed under the ‘Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam’.
Of 2.23 crore ration card-holding families, nearly 45 per cent of families are expected to benefit from the scheme.
Intervening in the debate on the State Budget for 2023-24, Stalin said the Rs 1,000 monthly income, announced in recognition of women’s social contribution, will be paid directly to their bank accounts to all eligible heads of households.
“Women pavement vendors, fisherwomen, women construction workers, women working on meagre wages in small shops, commercial and small enterprises and domestic workers will benefit from this scheme. Guidelines for the scheme will be released soon,” said CM Stalin, in reply to PMK’s GK Mani who lauded the scheme and sought the inclusion of all women heads of the families.
The Chef Minister said the initiative was carefully named Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam to recognise women’s hard work. The scheme would be launched on September 15 this year marking DMK founder and former Chief Minister CN Annadurai’s birth anniversary with a budgetary allocation of Rs 7,000 crore.
Pointing out that a similar ‘Universal Basic Income’ pilot scheme was implemented in several countries among targetted groups, he said economic experts have found its outcome remarkable. “Studies show this initiative has chances of reducing poverty by half. Women would use the money for their children’s education, give priority for spends on nutritional needs and medicine and also come forward to venture into small businesses. Above all, it is said women have got self-confidence,’’ he said, adding the members of the House could imagine the impact of the massive scheme in the Tamil society considering the impacts it had in a few countries on small-scale trial runs.
Responding to the criticism for limiting the beneficiaries of the scheme, he said if a “housing for all” scheme was announced, it meant the beneficiaries would be people who do not own a house. “It was the Dravidian movement which secured social freedom for women and it is the Dravidian model government that provides economic equality,” he said, adding the government firmly believed that when it recognised their work, the larger society including men would give them equal rights.