Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
NEWS ALERTS | Jharkhand NREGA workers unpaid due to govt. mismanagement & apathy
Jharkhand NREGA workers unpaid due to govt. mismanagement & apathy

Jharkhand NREGA workers unpaid due to govt. mismanagement & apathy

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Aug 24, 2016   modified Modified on Aug 25, 2016
The state of Jharkhand has been in the news recently but for the wrong reasons. The NREGS workers who worked for constructing dobhas (small farm ponds) across the state during April to June 2016 have been treated unfairly by the officials in the sense that they were not paid their due wages, alleges a group of local activists.

Despite complaints being made by the aggrieved workers, no action has been taken yet for releasing their pending wages. The administration has refused to entertain the complaints of workers in some blocks like Petarwar of Bokaro and Chakradharpur of West Singhbhum.

Jharkhand NREGA Watch, which is a forum of concerned citizens in that state, in its press release dated 23 August, 2016 has said that under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act it is mandatory that muster rolls are ready before workers start to work and the same is required to be available at the work site for inspection. However, in Jharkhand most workers who constructed dobhas during the above-mentioned duration were made to work with the promise that muster rolls with their names would be generated later.

There is little hope now of workers getting their pending wages because in case of many dobhas for which wage payments are pending, the NREGASoft (the Management Information System of the NREGA) shows that the deals have been closed or completed.  

Although the Jharkhand Government has claimed to have constructed over 1 lakh dobhas (water harvesting structures for storing rain water for irrigation) through MGNREGA in the current financial year, it is yet to release the pending wages of workers who constructed these structures, says the Jharkhand NREGA Watch press release (please click here to access).

Apart from non-payment of wages to labourers as well as mates, there were complaints about unavailability of medicines, drinking water and proper resting place at NREGS work sites in Jharkhand, where dobhas were constructed (please click here to access one such complaint letter written by NREGS workers).

Like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh too has been facing the problem of delayed payments. The Report of First Common Review Mission (2016), which was produced by the Department of Rural Development, says that the MGNREGA has lost credibility among workers due to non-payment and delayed payments. The NREGA workers in Madhya Pradesh did not get their wages, even one year after completion of the work, due to non-availability of funds, says the CRM report.

Although the NDA government has recently increased the budget for MGNREGS by Rs. 5,000 crore to Rs. 43,500 crore for the financial year 2016-17, non-payment of wages and delayed payment to MGNREGS workers still continues in many states.

James Herenj, Convenor of NREGA Watch in Jharkhand told the Inclusive Media for Change team that proper procedures were not followed due to which workers did not receive their due payments. In short, muster rolls were not generated before workers started to work in order to keep a record of labour attendance at worksites. He said that presently sufficient NREGA funds are available at the state-level.

References:

Press Release: Live without Pay? Thousands of Jharkhand’s NREGA workers not paid for working in dobhas, Jharkhand NREGA Watch - A Forum of Concerned Citizens of Jharkhand, 23 August, 2016, please click here to access

Report of First Common Review Mission, Department of Rural Development (Volume-1), Ministry of Rural Development, 3 June, 2016, please click here to access
 
Additional days of work available under MGNREGS not taken up in drought hit states, Newsalert from Inclusive Media for Change, please click here to access 

Open letter from NREGA workers put Govt. to shame, Newsalert from Inlcusive Media for Change, please click here to access 

Govt raises budget for rural jobs scheme by Rs. 5,000 crore -Elizabeth Roche, Livemint.com, 9 August, 2016, please click here to access
 
Image Courtesy: MKSS


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close