Implementation of the India’s flagship rural employment scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the district has been fraught with numerous constraints.
Inordinate delay in payment of wages continues to be a major hurdle in its implementation. There are around 5.25 lakh wage seekers enrolled in the scheme across the district.
In 2015-16, the government had disbursed wages of Rs. 115.80 crore to workers, spent Rs. 26.03 crore towards material expenditure, generating 91.04 lakh person days of employment, providing an average daily wage of Rs. 127 at a total expenditure of Rs. 155.52 crore, according to official figures.
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Sources said that the government owes wage arrears to the tune of over Rs. 25 crore to the MGNREGA workers for the works executed from February 1 to March 1 this year.
However, the organisations representing the workers maintain that scores of workers in several villages in Khammam division were yet to receive their wages for the works executed by them several months ago.
“We are yet to get our due wages nearly three years after executing the jungle clearance works as part of the development of a road in our village,” rues Bethampudi Veera Bhadramma, a wage seeker of M. Venkatayapalem in Khammam rural mandal.
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Our consistent pleas to the staff concerned for payment of wages went unheard, she laments, pointing out that they had submitted several memorandums along with the copies of the wage slips to the officials in Khammam, but to no avail.
No wages yet
Three months had lapsed since we have completed MGNREGA works in our village, says Sridevi, another job cardholder of the same village. We did not get the wages for the works executed by us till date, she deplores.
Women workers are hit hard by the inordinate delay in payment of wages under the rural job scheme, laments B. Venkaiah, Division Secretary, Telangana Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham (TVKS), Khammam.
The scheme, which hitherto served as a lifeline for the impoverished families in villages, is gradually being diluted by starving it of requisite funds, he alleges.
Social audit of the MGNREGA works revealed large-scale irregularities to the tune of Rs. 3 crore in the past, points out Macha Venkateswarlu, senior leader of TVKS.
When contacted, the Project Director, DWMA, Khammam, Jagath Kumar Reddy, said wages for the works executed from February first week to March first week this year were being disbursed through the Core Banking Solution (CBS) mode to all the wage seekers all over the district.
We are yet to get our due wages nearly three years after executing the jungle clearance works in our village.
– Bethampudi Veera Bhadramma
A wage seeker