JAIPUR: The Congress MLA, Sanyam Lodha, started an indefinite fast in the district headquarter town Sirohi in south west Rajasthan on Sunday, demanding compliance of the norms of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). Mr.Lodha, who represents Sirohi in the State Assembly, had earlier written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and met Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to highlight the violation of the provisions of the NREGS, including the payment of minimum wages.

Mr.Lodha started his fast at the Sargavav Gate in Sirohi town at 10 AM in the morning in the presence of a gathering of party workers and sympathizers. Every day two dozens of party workers would join Mr.Lodha in a relay fast.

Sirohi is one of the six districts in Rajasthan selected for the NREGS. The National Rural Employment Act has a provision for payment of compensation if the wages of those employed are not paid within a fortnight of their labour. The Act also stipulates the payment of Rs.60 as minimum wages after a days work.

Speaking to The Hindu on mobile phone from the site of fasting Mr.Lodha said during the past fortnight he had repeatedly tried to bring it to the notice of the State Government that those employed under NREGS in Sirohi were not paid the stipulated minimum wage of Rs.60. In violation of the norm that the payment should be made within a week the wages of the labourers were due more than a month and in some cases, even two months, he said.

Mr.Lodha said he wrote to Ms.Raje on the anomalies in the implementation of NRGES in Sirohi first on May 19 and then on June 1. He had personally met her during her visit to Sirohi on June 3 and tried to explain to her the sad state of affairs. She had asked the Secretary in charge of the district to look into the matter. "The Chief Minister told me that even Aruna Roy had praised the implementation of the scheme in Dungarpur. I told her that the case was different in Sirohi," Mr.Lodha said.

On an earlier occasion, on the complaint of Mr.Lodha, the Development Officer of Pindwara panchayati samiti and the gram sevak in the area were dismissed for not making payments to the labourers in Bhawri panchayati till May 18. Mr.Lodha had also intimated the Congress leadership that the Bharatiya Janata Party Government in Rajasthan was on "an effort to defeat the purpose of the NREGS", without complying with its norms. It was gross exploitation of the workers to pay them Rs.15-Rs.40 after a full day's work, he observed. The other demands of Mr.Lodha include the fulfillment of the promise of 10 kg of food grains free of cost to the widows and the disabled.

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