Daily wagers not paid under MGNREGS

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Bahbalpur (Hisar), December 19

The non-payment of wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and cash crunch due to demonetisation has increased the troubles of daily wagers. At least 3.5 lakh households in the state have not been paid wages under the scheme since mid-August.

Suresh Kumar, a daily wager at Bahbalpur village, told The Tribune, “I owe over Rs 10,000 to the local shopkeeper. He has refused to give me essential household items until I clear pending amount. I am worried about my children’s school fee too.”

Suresh and his wife Sushila also work for a private contractor. They said the contractor had asked them to wait for the cash shortage to end.

The district officials stated they had no role in payment disbursal under MGNREGS as they only generated the fund transfer orders (FTOs) to banks which are paid by the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), adding, the budget was allocated by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).

Meanwhile, Kela Devi, sarpanch, Bahbalpur village, said of the 1,200 MGNREGS workers, 300 were employed at the Central Sheep Breeding Farm located near the village. “The workers are living hand-to-mouth. The delay in payment is increasing their hardship. I have taken up the issue with the Block Development Officer. But since the payment would directly come to accounts from the Centre, we are helpless,” she said.