Union Minister urges T.N. CM to allocate land for landless villagers

Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale addresses a press meet in Madurai on Saturday (October 31, 2026). | Photo Credit: G. Moorthy Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale appealed to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to allocate five acres of land each to the landless people in rural areas.Interacting with the reporters here on Saturday (October 31, 2026), he said the Narendra Modi’s government at the Centre, through schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), was striving to tackle homelessness across the country.“If the government cannot identify suitable lands to provide to the landless people, an expert committee should be constituted for the purpose,” he said, adding that all sections of society had progressed through the Centre’s social welfare schemes.He urged Mr. Vijay to take strict action to curb rising violence, noting that numerous atrocities against Scheduled Caste communities were being reported in the State.Paying floral tributes to Muthuramalinga Thevar statue in the city, the Minister lauded the late leader’s role in the freedom struggle alongside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar, in 1945, and his dedicated social activism.He said the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment operated with a substantial budget allocation of ₹1.98 lakh crore rupees focused on Scheduled Castes’ development plans and welfare programmes.“This encompasses providing scholarships to approximately one crore students every year, running overseas scholarship schemes to send students abroad for higher education, and operating financial development corporations for SC, OBCs, and conservancy workers,” he noted.Highlighting the wide reach of national flagship welfare programmes, Mr. Athawale said under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, more than 59 crore bank accounts — approximately 10 crore accounts in T.N. — had been opened to promote financial inclusion.“Under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which empowers small and micro-entrepreneurs by providing collateral-free loans ranging from ₹50,000 to ₹10 lakh, over 60 crore beneficiaries — more than six crore in T.N. — had been recorded nationally,” he said.Under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, nearly 10 crore free cooking gas connections had been allotted nationwide, and 42 lakh of these connections were in Tamil Nadu.The Minister said under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, 6.59 lakh houses had been constructed in rural areas and 6.35 lakh houses in urban areas of T.N. as part of nationwide housing targets of three crore new housing units.Additionally, through Ayushman Bharat Yojana, cashless medical treatment coverage of up to ₹5 lakh per year was provided to poor families, benefiting roughly 60 lakh people across the country, he added. Published - October 31, 2026 08:35 pm IST