Chandigarh, April 11 Former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala expressed concern on Saturday that the recent increase in minimum wages in the state could make lakhs of workers ineligible for various government welfare schemes.
Chautala said that several schemes require an annual family income of less than Rs 1.80 lakh for eligibility.
However, with minimum wages now exceeding Rs 15,000 per month across categories, the annual income of registered workers has crossed this limit, making them ineligible for benefits.
He cited schemes such as BPL ration cards, free treatment under Chirayu Haryana, financial aid under Dayalu Yojana, Lado Lakshmi scheme for women, Mukhyamantri Shahri Awas Yojana, Chirag scheme for free education in private schools, and marriage assistance schemes, among others, where eligibility is linked to income declared in the Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP).
Referring to past instances where pensions were discontinued based on PPP data, Chautala said a similar situation could arise for workers.
He urged the state government to raise the annual income limit for such schemes to Rs 2.40 lakh and update the criteria across portals to prevent hardship for the labour class.
He also called on the government to address the demands of employees in both private and public sectors, including in Gurugram.
Chautala criticised the Haryana Chief Minister for frequently visiting Punjab for political campaigning but not raising the issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (SYL) canal and Haryana's share of water.
He alleged that such visits weaken Haryana's position on inter-state issues and questioned how the state could assert its rights if the matter is not raised strongly.
Chautala further claimed that Punjab had stopped Haryana's drinking water supply last summer and warned that a similar situation could arise again.
He also questioned the use of private helicopters for official tours, stating that the state already has three aircraft, including helicopters, and asked why crores of rupees are being spent on private arrangements.