The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in Karur still plagued by problems

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Friday, Mar 21, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Rural Employment Guarantee scheme in Karur still plagued by problems

L. Renganathan

KARUR: With problems dogging the implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in Karur district, the performance of the scheme aimed at providing 100 days of employment to the poor a year has come into sharp focus.

Even with more than just liberal help from the administration, the scheme has run into rough weather.

The primary problem in many cases relates to wage disbursal. While workers complain that the officials are not granting them the right and full wage of Rs. 80 for a day’s work, the officials find themselves in a quandary, unable to meet the demands of workers and the rulebook. They claim that wages are being disbursed as per the specifications.

In almost all cases , workers have complained of “lower wages.” A stark reminder of the hitch is Tuesday’s gherao of panchayat officials by workers engaged in desilting of a tank at Mettankinam in the Manavasi panchayat in the Krishnarayapuram taluk. While the workers alleged that officials were disbursing only Rs. 60, the officials countered that their work was worth as much. But the workers charged the officials with having bungled with the measurements.

The implementation of the scheme was plagued by troubles in at least four blocks. It was acute in K. Paramathi and Karur a couple of months back. Now it was the turn of Krishnarayapuram.

For an industrialised district like Karur, an unskilled worker could earn a daily average of more than Rs. 80 offered by the government. “Yes, there is difference in wages. Younger people are attracted to textile units that abound in the district not just for wages but also for the excellent working conditions. Who but the old is willing to toil under the scorching sun and settle for lesser wages than that offered at export units,” asks S. Marudayee.

A look at the rolls of the beneficiaries reveals that the average age of the worker is above 40 and in many places, it is over 45. A grey workforce getting tired of working under the sun is no joy for the employer. The employer is trying his bit to reach out to the worker. Sources in one of the government departments, not willing to be identified, told The Hindu that estimates for some works taken up under the scheme were boosted up four times the regular cost to “aid manual labour.” Lower-level officials are squared up, as they have to face the music during the internal audit.

Another problem pertains to the involvement of panchayat presidents. In some cases, their response to the scheme is lukewarm, as almost everything is transparent. Some panchayat presidents are keen on implementing the works in their areas, but the general feeling among them is that routine works suffer, as the focus is on the scheme. Some presidents do the work with a smiling grudge, say officials.

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