SANGAREDDY: The State government’s decision to merge various villages of erstwhile Medak district with different municipalities has left as many as 10,000 families in dire straits. These families, who were so far dependent on the Employment Guarantee Scheme to make ends meet, have suddenly lost their jobs and are forced to migrate from their homes to find employment. The reason? The scheme only applies to rural regions, and these families were suddenly not ‘rural’ anymore.
The said villages have been merged with municipalities including Siddipet, Medak, Sangareddy, Narayankhed, Zahirabad, Sadasivpet and Jogipet. In addition to this, the government has also upgraded major village panchayats like Narayankhed, Narsapur, Ramayampet and Ameenpur into municipalities. As a result, most farm workers in these regions are no longer entitled to jobs under EGS.
According to CPM Agriculture Workers Union leader B Mallesh, at least 900 families have lost employment just within Narayankhed village panchayat and its surrounding villages. “In addition to this, as many as 3,000 families in Narsapur, Ramayampet and Andole village panchayats have also lost their jobs,” he added.
While admitting that farmers have been losing jobs due to the mergers, Sangareddy district rural development officer Ch Srinivas said: “Once a village is merged into a municipality, it is no longer possible for us to provide works for them under the EGS. It is on the government to take a decision in this regard.”
How EGS benefits rural workers
If anyone applies for work under Employment Guarantee Scheme, he should be provided work within 15 days. If not, he should at least get the wage