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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami has urged the Tamil Nadu government to release what he says are two months of unpaid salaries and protect contract employees associated with Vazhndhu Kattuvom. The claims, including a reported reduction in staff employment, appeared in a PTI dispatch published by Hindustan Times on October 1, 2026; the materials available do not independently verify the arrears or employment status.
What Palaniswami is asking the government to do
Palaniswami called on the state to address the grievances of more than 4,400 contract employees he said were associated with Vazhndhu Kattuvom. He asked the government to release two months of pending salaries and provide job security. These figures and claims are attributed to Palaniswami in the PTI report, not independently confirmed payroll or staffing records.
He proposed two possible paths for the employees: continued work under Vazhndhu Kattuvom 3.0, or integration into Magalir Thittam. The report describes these as Palaniswami’s proposals; it does not establish that the government has adopted either option, or specify eligibility or implementation details.
What is alleged about the employees and arrears
According to Palaniswami’s statement, the workforce included more than 500 supervisory officers and around 3,900 field staff at state, district and block levels. He said they had worked on consolidated pay for between 10 and 18 years. These are reported estimates and service-duration claims, not independently verified employee records.
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Palaniswami alleged that staff had not received salaries for two months and that state-level employees were relieved from service effective September 23, 2026. The report does not say that every employee was relieved, and the available materials do not include payroll evidence or a government confirmation of the reported action. They therefore do not establish whether salaries have since been paid or what the employees’ current status is.
What the project does
Official programme material identifies Vazhndhu Kattuvom (வாழ்ந்து காட்டுவோம்) as the Tamil Nadu Rural Transformation Project. Its stated aims include developing rural enterprises, improving access to finance, and creating livelihood, employment and skills-development opportunities. Palaniswami said project staff supported farmer organisations and Farmer Producer Organisations, training and seed-capital grants, assistance to people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, e-Seva centres, rural micro-credit, census enumeration, grassroots institutions and women’s empowerment activities.
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He also cited a micro-credit repayment rate above 95 per cent and more than 6.5 lakh direct beneficiaries. Those impact figures are his claims in the PTI report, not independently audited results presented in the available material.
Official project figures and the history of its name
The project’s official disclosure describes an implementation period of 2017–2023 covering 120 blocks and 3,994 village panchayats across 31 districts. It gives a total estimated project cost of ₹919.73 crore, funded in a 70:30 ratio by the World Bank and Tamil Nadu: ₹643.81 crore and ₹275.92 crore respectively. These figures describe the historical project scope and funding, not current staffing or 2026 reach.
The naming chronology is not settled by the available accounts. Palaniswami said the scheme began in 2005 as the Rural Transformation Project and was renamed by the DMK government in 2021. Separately, a Tamil Nadu Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department archive lists a 2006 government order titled “Renaming of the project as Vazhndhu Kaatuvom.” The archive entry and his account may refer to different decisions or phases; without the relevant orders, they should not be combined into one definitive timeline.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What remains unconfirmed
The PTI report attributes the salary, staffing, service-relief and February 13, 2026 order claims to Palaniswami. The materials available do not include a copy of that order, payroll records, independent confirmation that staff were relieved, or a government response. As a result, the reported demand is clear, but the underlying employment and payment outcome is not established.
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