The implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Adilabad was a little erratic for different reasons. If it was fund crunch in January and February, it is the strike by the field assistants which has impacted the attendance of wage seekers since the start of this week.
Officials, however, claim that in terms of scheme implementation, the district stands first in the State with over 2 lakh job cardholders reporting for work during the last week. They also state that there was no delay in payment of wages at present.
The figures could be inflated as less number of workers were seen on the field in the last two months owing to extreme heat and marriage season. “I have my doubts,” observed Gudihatnoor Zilla Parishad Territorial Constituency member Githe Keshav as he talked about the high attendance of wage seekers as reported by the District Water Management Agency, which looks after the implementation of the MGNREGS.
According to sources, the officials responsible for the implementation of the scheme mark attendance for absentee labourers and share the wages equally. “There is no question of such high attendance as tribals stayed away from work because of the wedding season and others did so due to excessive heat,” a source pointed out, on conditions of anonymity.
The accusation seems to be true considering the example of the tribal hamlet, Raghuguda in Ichoda mandal. The Gond wage seekers stayed away during March and April as they attended marriages in their tribe.
“We did not work in those two months. We have started working since the last week,” said Ada Maruti from the hamlet.
On the issue of payments, the job cardholders said they had not received payment for work done in May so far. Officials, however, said that wage seekers themselves would have failed to draw their wages for the period as the Agency has no dearth of funds.
The total expenditure by the DWMA in the shape of wages is Rs. 59 crore so far in the current fiscal generating a total of 35.2 lakh person days. About 1.8 lakh households and over 3 lakh individuals were involved in the works under the MGNREGS in the said period.
