CHENNAI: Is there merit in Tamil Nadu’s strident opposition to direct benefit transfer? Right from MGNREGS, the Tamil Nadu government has vehemently opposed the Centre’s resolve to transfer financial aid and subsidy directly to the beneficiaries’ accounts.
The only instance it was forced to relent and provide beneficiaries’ details was in the case of transfer of Centre’s direct income support of Rs 6,000 a year to farmers holding cultivable land up to two hectares, announced in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections last year.
Even when Covid-19 outbreak forced people to follow social distancing norms, the state preferred to directly hand over Rs 1,000 to each ration card holding family and not to transfer it into their bank accounts.
The latest bone of contention is the draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which stipulates that all power consumers should pay bills and the state government should provide subsidy by reimbursing the bills, if it chooses to continue with the subsidy policy. The money should be directly remitted in the bank accounts of the beneficiaries comprising farmers, weavers, hutments and domestic consumers.
