The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : People in Chitradurga deprived of wages under NREGS

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 08, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

People in Chitradurga deprived of wages under NREGS

Special Correspondent

Only 13 per cent provided jobs in four districts
Many village panchayats did not maintain employment register

Bangalore: People in rural areas doing unskilled manual work under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme of the Union Government in Chitradurga district, who were to be paid weekly wages, have not got them for well over 178 days last year, thanks to the procedural formalities.

Under the Payment of Wages Act 1936, the workers in rural areas, who should have been paid compensation for any delay in the payment of daily wages, have also been deprived of the amount. According to sources in the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, the Chitradurga Zilla Panchayat released Rs.7.78 crore to the town panchayats in September last towards the works executed by them during 2006-07, after a lapse of six months.

Thus, they were deprived of their earnings aggregating to Rs.4.51 crore (wage component) and were thus denied the envisaged enhancement of livelihood security. Further, no compensation was paid to them for the delayed payment. The zilla panchayat Chief Executive Officer attributed the delay to inspection of works by certain committees formed to look into the complaints regarding the execution and quality of works.

Auditors of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, who test-checked the records have termed his argument as untenable, saying that the guidelines stipulated that disbursement of wages to labourers for such a long period defeated the primary objective of the scheme to provide employment to the people in rural areas.

The CAG said that employment was to be provided to every household within 15 days of demand. In case employment was not provided within the specific time limit, the labourer was entitled to unemployment allowance at the rate prescribed in the guidelines. No case of payment of unemployment allowance was noticed in any of the village panchayats or town panchayats. The report said that the Joint Director in the Department stated that there was no demand from any panchayat for payment of unemployment allowance. The reply, the CAG said was not based on facts and quoted that the Hiriyur Town Panchayat had not provided employment to 76 households.

Further, as other village panchayats had not maintained the employment register, audit could not cross-check the department’s claim that there was no demand or the quantum of funds required for payment of unemployment allowance.

In Bidar, Chitradurga, Davangere, Gulbarga and Raichur districts, of the 5.45 lakh households, 100 days of employment was provided to only 70,000 households accounting to only 13 per cent.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Karnataka