The Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission member outlined the network of targeted welfare schemes, including housing, direct financial assistance, and doorstep ration delivery, that the state continues to fund even as central allocations shrink.
Published Nov 13, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 13, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Dr Ezhilan Naganathan
Synopsis: As Kerala declares that it has eradicated extreme poverty, attention has turned southward to Tamil Nadu, a state often held up for its welfare-led development model. In an exclusive conversation with South First, Dr Ezhilan Naganathan, MLA and member of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, argues that true poverty eradication cannot be achieved through economic growth alone, but must be rooted in social justice.
Following Kerala’s announcement that it has eliminated extreme poverty, Tamil Nadu’s approach to tackling deprivation has come into focus.
In a conversation with South First, Dr Ezhilan Naganathan, MLA and member of the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission, argues that poverty eradication is possible only through social justice, not merely through infrastructure growth. He spoke in detail about the various schemes being implemented by the Tamil Nadu government towards this goal.
He outlined the network of targeted welfare schemes, including housing, direct financial assistance, and doorstep ration delivery, that the state continues to fund even as central allocations shrink.
Edited excerpts follow.
Q: To what extent does poverty exist in Tamil Nadu? How many people in Tamil Nadu are in extreme poverty?
Dr Naganathan: There are many ways to measure poverty. How much food do they eat per day? Do they live in safe homes? How easily do they access medical facilities? How much annual income do they earn? These are among the many factors involved.
We completed a survey three years ago to assess how people in Tamil Nadu were accessing these essentials. It was found that seven lakh people in urban areas and ten lakh people in rural areas were living in extreme poverty.
Apart from them, the government identified those in extreme poverty across several categories, such as children abandoned by parents, transgender persons, abandoned elderly people, and differently abled individuals. Unlike Kerala, which classified all groups collectively under extreme poverty, in Tamil Nadu we identified them category by category and shared their details with more than 19 government departments.
That is why focused attention is being given separately. An example is the housing scheme for rural areas introduced by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. However, the issue is that the funding share for this scheme between the central and state governments was 60:40, which was later reduced to 50:50. Now, the central government says it can provide only one instalment.
But since the scheme has already been announced, the state government is continuing it even without central funding. That is why houses are being provided under the Kalaignar Comprehensive Housing Scheme to those in extreme poverty.
There is a separate scheme named after Pandit Ayothidhasar to build houses for members of the backward classes, and another for tribal communities living in the hills. Under the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department and the Urban Development Department, houses are being built and provided to the respective groups under their jurisdiction.
Schemes such as the Thayumanavar scheme, which delivers ration goods to homes, and monthly financial assistance for children who have lost both parents, are all being implemented based on the survey completed three years ago.
Q: States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are now identified as fast-growing economies. They say that economic development is essential to eradicate poverty, and that is why they are formulating plans for it. In particular, the National Democratic Alliance says in Bihar’s election promises—from creating new airports to various other announcements—that these initiatives are being undertaken solely to eradicate poverty. Is bringing more investment into key sectors feasible for poverty eradication?
Dr Naganathan: From the perspective of socio-economic development, we need to ask what we mean by growth. Should we measure growth by GDP in a specific region, or should human development be the correct measure? That is the key question.
We accept that Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are fast-growing economic states because they have progressed slightly from a very backward position. Therefore, even a small improvement there is seen as significant. But for already developed states like Tamil Nadu, further increasing that growth—even if it is a major achievement—tends to appear minor.
For example, Tamil Nadu’s economic growth is 11.19 percent, the highest in the country. But we need to look at the means through which we achieved this. Earlier, under the Finance Commission’s recommendations, states like Tamil Nadu and Kerala—with high per capita income and controlled population growth—were prioritised, while states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh lagged behind. Based on this, funds that should rightfully come to Tamil Nadu are now diverted to states like Bihar.
Especially in the last ten years, under BJP-ruled states, funds from the central pool have been given under the name of special schemes to states like Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat – up to four times more than what states like Tamil Nadu receive. Even with the limited funds we get, we spend on human development areas such as basic education and health. That is why most people have shifted from the informal to the formal sector, and non-taxpayers have become taxpayers. This increased tax revenue goes to the central government.
At the same time, in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where the Centre spends more, look at how many people they have turned into taxpayers – it is very low. That is why these states continue to lag in human development indices. To show growth, they build big bridges and highways in urban areas, but they fail to address the livelihood needs of the lakhs of people living under those bridges and along those highways.
Similarly, the manufacturing sector is crucial for economic growth. We bring in investments from outside and encourage existing entrepreneurs. That is why Tamil Nadu contributes the highest share to the Centre in the manufacturing sector among all states. In agriculture too, we produce a surplus.
Q: Even within districts in Tamil Nadu, there are divisions between developed and underdeveloped regions. Doesn’t that create a major impact?
Dr Naganathan: Growth must be inclusive and reach all regions. That is why the State Planning Commission created the “focus development block” system, surveyed which districts require greater attention in specific departments, and submitted detailed reports. Work is underway based on those findings.
The recent opening of SIPCOT in Dharmapuri is part of this effort. We are also expanding the suburban areas of Chennai, including Chengalpattu, Tambaram, and Avadi.
However, the central government, which should be extending support, is creating obstacles instead. For not signing the PM SHRI scheme, the Centre is refusing to release even the funds already allocated to Tamil Nadu.
Q: According to central government data, states where more women receive education and enter the workforce are also the more developed ones. To what extent is there a connection between women’s education and poverty eradication?
Dr Naganathan: Many European countries and even capitalist nations like the United States, which often take a negative view of communist ideologies, quietly implement communist principles in practice. For example, Obama’s Obamacare in the US, free education and healthcare for all in France, and the social development schemes in Scandinavian countries – all are based on the principles of social equity that originated in communist thought.
Karl Marx’s human development ideas and Lenin’s five-year plans after the October Revolution were designed with social justice and gender equality in mind. Jawaharlal Nehru adapted these ideas into India’s five-year plans. But before such principles could take full root in India, states like Tamil Nadu had already undergone social reform movements. Through the efforts of Thanthai Periyar and others, gender inequality and patriarchal structures justified in the name of caste and religion were challenged.
In Maharashtra, Mahatma Phule; in Kerala, Narayana Guru; and in Karnataka, the Basava movement – all these reformers and movements consistently advocated gender equality. The benefits of those struggles are visible today in these states’ sustained economic growth. In contrast, no comparable social movements emerged in North India.
The resolution Periyar brought at the Chengalpattu conference for women’s property rights, and the one Kalaignar Karunanidhi introduced in the Assembly in 1989, are key reasons why Tamil Nadu today has the highest number of women entrepreneurs.
Women form a large part of society. Without their progress, there can be no progress for society as a whole.
Q: Tamil Nadu produces the highest number of engineers in India and, as a result, sends the most youth abroad for employment. At the same time, it attracts the largest number of migrant workers from other states. For Tamil Nadu’s development, whose contribution is greater – that of Tamils going abroad or of those coming from other states in search of livelihoods?
Dr Naganathan: This is a change that any developed society experiences. In Tamil Nadu’s case, it reflects a growing society, because the belief that one’s daughter or son should be in a better position than oneself is passed down from generation to generation.
That is why a large number of workers have become entrepreneurs. The land ownership law introduced in Tamil Nadu in the 1970s turned landless people into landowners.
