Deficit rainfall in several districts across the State has deprived the labour of farm works, their major source of livelihood, and the work guarantee scheme, (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005) is not helping them either.
An inordinate delay in wage payments under MGNREGA, which guarantees 100 days of unskilled labour employment per family, has left the labour force in the lurch. The payments pending in the 13 districts of the State has touched ₹865 crore corresponding to 1.1 crore transactions (workers), the highest pendency reported in the last five years.
Ironically, the Union government in March this year had directed Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh among other States, to pay pending wages for the rural employment guarantee scheme and bring down the level of dues to workers at the end of the year to an all-time low.
Some of the workers have not been paid wages for five to 14 weeks, defeating the very purpose of the scheme. “The Centre has released ₹3,892 crore so far this year, of which ₹2,883 crore is towards wages and the remaining amount for payment of material and administrative expenses,” says Chakradhar Buddha from LibTech India, a team of engineers, social workers and social scientists, who are working to improve public service delivery across the country.