Tamil Nadu is contributing more funds than the Union government to at least six major central schemes, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said. Following Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks in Madurai, Stalin reiterated that even for schemes bearing the Prime Minister’s name, Tamil Nadu shoulders over 50% of the total cost.
Amit Shah had recently accused CM Stalin of misleading the public on issues like delimitation and central funding, asserting that the current government has allocated significantly more funds to Tamil Nadu than previous administrations.
A report by The Hindu confirms that Tamil Nadu’s government pays a bigger share for flagship programs such as the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), and Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) under the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP). Other schemes where the state’s contribution surpasses the Union’s include the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Rural, Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).
Though the NSAP is officially a fully Union-funded initiative since 1995, Tamil Nadu has been running similar welfare schemes since 1962, expanding coverage to vulnerable groups including persons with disabilities, widows, agricultural laborers, and deserted women. The Union government’s pension payouts for old age range from Rs 200 to Rs 500 depending on age, while the state supplements this with payments ranging from Rs 700 to Rs 1,000.
Under the IGNDPS scheme, persons with disabilities receive Rs 1,500 monthly, with Tamil Nadu providing Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 and the Union contributing only Rs 300 to Rs 500. The state also runs additional disability pension schemes offering Rs 1,500 per beneficiary.
In housing, the state’s financial share in the PMAY-Rural scheme is 61%, compared to the Union’s 39%. With a unit house cost of Rs 2,83,900, including RCC roofing and sanitation facilities under allied schemes, Tamil Nadu’s contribution stands at Rs 1,72,800, while the Union provides Rs 1,11,100.
Similarly, though the official funding ratio for PMMSY is 60:40 in favour of the state, the Union’s effective contribution is only 27%. For the Jal Jeevan Mission, despite an official 50:50 cost-sharing model, Tamil Nadu bears most of the implementation expenses.
This imbalance in funding between the Union and state governments has been a point of contention for decades. Tamil Nadu, like several other states, has long expressed concerns about bearing a disproportionate share of the financial burden for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS).