HYDERABAD: In what could be called as a lacuna in the implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), workers from 47 out of 87 villages across TS are yet to receive their wages.
“Most of the pending payments are for three to four weeks’ work and in a few villages like Pothgal, the payments to NREGS workers have been pending for over a year.
The workers’ assertion that they should be paid wages for their work under NREGS within 15 days have remained unheard,” states a report of the study conducted by civil society groups such as ActionAid, Dalit Bahujan Front, Gramya Resource Centre for Women and Rythu Swarajya Vedika.
“The state government will have to ensure effective monitoring of its flagship programme, Haritha Haaram. Under the programme around 12 lakh saplings were planted in 84 out of the 87 villages studied. Around five lakh saplings have dried up in lack of water.
In 31 villages the villagers were not paid wages for digging pits to plant saplings,” said M Anjaneyulu, Telangana regional manager, ActionAid who spearheaded the survey.
The report also finds that in only 17 out of 87 villages, officials like APO, Mandal Parishad Development Officer (MPDO), APD and Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) visited work sites.
“A few MLAs who hold responsibility towards the villagers, have so far visited only seven villages, that also to inaugurate the programme. Only one Telangana village, Surampalli in Siddipet has been visited by the district collector so far.”
“Even though under NREGS, it is mandatory to provide employment to the rural population for at least 100 days in a year, we found that, on an average, the workers are provided employment for only 42 days a year,” said social activist Ashalata. Moreover, around 10 pc of rural households in 54 Telangana villages do not have job cards. Only 7.9 pc of the 47,363 households having job cards have received 100 days of employment.
In most of the study villages, there is no awareness on how villagers can avail of employment under NREGS, state the report findings. The field study was conducted in villages in 24 mandals, across nine districts of TS, namely Jogulamba Gadwal, Warangal Rural, Warangal Urban, Sircilla, Medak, Siddipet, Nalgonda, Kamareddy.