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Resource centre on India's rural distress
 
 

Job scheme rap on Bengal

-The Telegraph

New Delhi: The Centre has slammed 12 states, including Bengal and Bihar, for not taking any steps yet to comply with a Supreme Court directive on compensating workers for delayed wages under the national job guarantee scheme.

In a letter this week, the rural development ministry said this was "not an acceptable situation".

The letter written by Aparajita Sarangi, the joint secretary handling the MGNREGA scheme, said 20 states had started the process of paying the compensation while 12 were yet to take any step.

"No action has been taken by 12 states which is not an acceptable situation. It is requested that those states who have not initiated payment of compensation on delayed payment must start without further loss of time," the letter said.

The court had in May directed the Centre to ensure, among other things, that workers were paid compensation for delayed wages under the job scheme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act says workers have to be paid wages within 15 days of the work done and provides for compensation if wages are paid after 15 days.

According to the guidelines, workers are to get 0.05 per cent of the pending amount per day for the delayed period as compensation. The compensation has to be borne by the state government since implementation of the scheme is the responsibility of the state.

Earlier, on June 7, Sarangi had written to all the states that the compensation must be paid by June 30.

Sources in the ministry said the states that were yet to move an inch include Assam, Bengal, Bihar, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The other states have already made a payment of Rs 7 crore as compensation.

Social activist Nikhil Dey cited several loopholes in the payment of compensation for delayed wages. Although delayed payment is an issue faced every year, the ministry has asked the states to pay compensation from 2015-16, he said, adding that if a district or block does not have money under the MGNREGA head, the programme officer concerned can refuse to pay the compensation.

"The compensation should be paid for all the years for which it is pending, not just for 2015-16. There is no logic for declining the compensation because MGNREGA funds have been exhausted," Dey said.

Several studies have found that the Centre delays release of funds to states, leading to delayed payment of wages. But the guidelines are silent on the Centre's responsibility regarding timely release of funds.

"If the Centre is responsible for delayed payment of wages because of non-release of funds, it should bear the compensation. The guidelines put the compensation payment entirely on states irrespective of states' responsibility. This is wrong," Dey said.

He also said the 0.05 per cent compensation was too low.