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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | ‘Delay in NREGA payments causing distress migration’ by Priyadarshi Siddhanta

‘Delay in NREGA payments causing distress migration’ by Priyadarshi Siddhanta

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published Published on Aug 25, 2011   modified Modified on Aug 25, 2011

The Planning Commission has raised concerns over people migrating from the countryside to cities in search of jobs. The Plan panel says that this ‘distress migration’ is mainly due to delayed disbursement of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MGNREGA.

It has asked the rural development ministry to expressly strengthen the Business Correspondent model to make payments to workers under the flagship welfare scheme. In the meantime, the plan has favoured empowering gram panchayats to release half the wages to avoid further delay.

The Commission has also criticised the current practice of preparing Labour Budget, which has been supply-driven rather than demand driven. This, the panel says, is leading to a situation where potential NREGA workers are not assured of work when they need it.

“The Business Correspondent model needs to be strengthened. The Centre should allow states to pay the margins required by banks/post offices from the 6 per cent administrative cost for a few years by when the BCs become a true business proposition,” Commission Member Mihir Shah, who oversees the sector in the Plan panel said in a note to the rural development ministry. “In case valuation of works cannot be done in time, the gram panchayats should be allowed to make an interim release of half of the wages due as calculated on the basis of daily stipulated wage. For this purpose the muster rolls may be counter-signed by the GP/Employment Guarantee Assistants based on preliminary verification,” Shah said in the note.

According to the note, the states must conduct time and motion studies to revise their Schedule of Rates (SoRs) in line with the demands of an employment-intensive programme like MGNREGA.

“Since January 1, 2011, MGNREGA wages have been indexed to inflation. So every state must index its SoRs to inflation,” the member observed. The commission has also suggested states to organise Rozgar Diwas once in every three months. Shah decried the practice of Gram Panchayats seeking financial sanction from block level every time they start a work. This, he said, causes great delay and makes it impossible for them to commence work in time.


The Indian Express, 23 August, 2011, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/delay-in-nrega-payments-causing-distress-migration/835591/0


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