Tamil Nadu clears ₹50 daily food allowance for 24,264 Chennai conservancy workers

The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order granting a daily food allowance of ₹50 to 24,264 conservancy workers under the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The payment will be made in cash and added to monthly salaries, replacing the meals currently supplied to these workers.

The allowance will be calculated only for the days a worker attends duty, meaning it is tied to actual attendance rather than paid as a flat monthly benefit. It covers sanitation workers engaged through the corporation's self-help group arrangements as well as those employed by private cleaning agencies — Urbaser Sumeet and Chennai Enviro Solutions Private Limited.

The order was issued by the GCC's Deputy Commissioner (Revenue and Finance) on the directions of Commissioner G.S. Sameeran. The annual expenditure on the allowance has been estimated at ₹44.28 crore and will be met from GCC funds.

The shift to a cash allowance follows complaints about the existing meals scheme. A government order dated September 21 noted that sanitation workers, Project Management Consultants and corporation officials had raised concerns about the quality of food supplied, delays in distribution at the designated time, hygiene in kitchens, substandard raw materials, and the quality and upkeep of utensils.

A survey and opinion poll was subsequently conducted among conservancy workers across Zones 1 to 15 to decide whether the meals scheme should continue. About 92% of the workers who responded said they would prefer a cash food allowance instead of the meals, describing it as more useful to them.

The order formalises that preference, moving the benefit from an in-kind meal to a daily cash component linked to attendance.