TNIE IMPACT: After five months, ‘Mahalir Thittam’ staff working in Madurai and Theni get salaries

Key points

• MADURAI: After TNIE carried a report titled “Nearly 200 Mahalir Thittam staff working in Madurai, Theni not paid since March”…
• Speaking to TNIE, on condition of anonymity, an Assistant Project Officer (APO) under DDU-GKY said, “APOs are receiving a consolidated…
• Echoing similar concern, another staff member who has been working as a Data Entry Operator for more than five years…
• Earlier, TNIE spoke to staff working under the scheme in several districts throughout the state, and concerned project officers of…

MADURAI: After TNIE carried a report titled “Nearly 200 Mahalir Thittam staff working in Madurai, Theni not paid since March” on June 3, 2026, the staff working in the department received their pending salaries on Monday.

Speaking to TNIE, a staff member working under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) expressed her gratitude to TNIE, saying that officials responded to the report and took swift steps to disburse the pending salaries. “On Monday, we received five months’ salary. The officials have additionally assured us that, hereafter, we will receive our salaries on time,” she said.

Earlier, TNIE spoke to staff working under the scheme in several districts throughout the state, and concerned project officers of Mahalir Thittam. Around 200 staff across the state had not received their salaries since March.

Speaking to TNIE, on condition of anonymity, an Assistant Project Officer (APO) under DDU-GKY said, “APOs are receiving a consolidated monthly salary ranging between Rs 28,000 and Rs 35,000. We have been working for more than 15 years. The prolonged delay in salary disbursement has left many struggling to meet household expenses and backing their families.”

Echoing similar concern, another staff member who has been working as a Data Entry Operator for more than five years said that she is getting a monthly salary of Rs 15,000. “Non-payment of salaries for the past several months has created uncertainty and hardship among employees, many of whom depend solely on their monthly income,” she added.