SC takes up plea of 'Swaraj Abhiyan' over difficulties faced by workers under MGNREGA
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea alleging a "grave crisis" being faced by the workers under the rural employment guarantee scheme, MNREGA, with their pending wages piling up with negative balances in many states.
A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana was urged by advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for 'Swaraj Abhiyan', a political party, that the interim plea be listed for hearing since the rural economy is stressed due to the migration of urban workers and the MNREGA, the main sources of income, was facing pendency of payment of wages.
"We will see," said the bench which also comprised Justices Krishna Murai and Hima Kohli. Swaraj Abhiyan, then an NGO, had filed a PIL in the apex court in 2015 seeking various reliefs for rural poor and farmers and now it has come up with an interim application in that plea.
"A directions to the Central Government to put in place a mechanism to ensure that State Governments have adequate funds to implement the programme for a subsequent month. The month when the demand was highest in the previous year should be used as the base month for which minimum funds must be provided to the State Government in advance," it said.
The plea said currently there was a grave crisis being faced by crores of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the country, with their pending wages piling up along with negative balances in most of the states.
"As of 26th November 2021, the State Governments are facing a shortage of Rs 9682 crores and 100 per cent of the allocated funds for the year have been exhausted with 5 months of the year still remaining. This is despite this excuse of shortage of funds being a gross violation of the law. The judgements of this court on MNREGA wage payments and on non-payment of wages being a violation of Article 23 of the Constitution," it said.
It has also sought a direction to the Central Government and State Government to comply with the 2013 instruction of the Ministry of Rural Development and ensure that workers can register their demand for work by using technologies and get dated acknowledgment receipts for the same.
"A direction to the Central Government to ensure that all pending wage, material, and administrative payments pending as of today is cleared within the next 30 days," it said. It has also sought a direction to the authorities to ensure payment of compensation for the delay in payment of wages, as prescribed in the MGNREGA along with clearing all pending wage payments due.