TIRUCHY: Save for a few who managed to avail of small loans for festivities, it will largely be muted Deepavali celebrations this year for several of the 4.61 lakh workers in the district relying on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for a livelihood as their wages due for the past four months are yet to be released in entirety.
A Ammakannu of Mugavanur panchayat complained that for all the toil through the months of July till October, MGNREGS workers in her village were paid only one week’s wages. “I worked one week in July, two weeks in August and one week in September but only received money for September. My husband and I have secured a small loan for celebrating Deepavali. It’s very difficult without money.”
Mentioning her daily wages under the scheme for desilting Arasankulam in her locality to be Rs 290, Ammakannu said, “Receiving the dues of Rs 6,090 would change how I celebrate Deepavali.” Alagesan P of Kothattai in Kumaravayalur panchayat said he hasn’t received one week’s wages for the three weeks he put in over the past three months.
“My relatives in Barathi Nagar of the same panchayat have not received three weeks’ wages. This year owing to no release of water from Mettur dam [for irrigation] there is no work in the fields. MGNREGS works have reduced over the past four months. Earlier there would be 100 days of work but now only one week’s work is given to us in a month. Wages too are not released immediately.”
Ayalai Siva Suriyan, district secretary of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam, said the situation persists across the state. “People from the working class and the marginalised communities depend on MGNREGS for their livelihood as samba cultivation is under threat this year owing to no water release from Mettur dam.” MGNREGS work days have reduced and wages are denied to the labourers, he added.
Official sources averred that the issues are being faced by all the 4.61 lakh MGNREGS workers in the district. It may be noted that Chief Minister MK Stalin on October 27 wrote to the Union Minister for Rural Development Shandilya Giriraj Singh requesting to release the `2,696.77 crore in total wage liability for MGNREGS workers in Tamil Nadu.
When contacted, V Pitchai, Project Director, DRDA (Tiruchy), told TNIE, “The Union government has not released the dues; it is a state-wide issue. Some have received one week’s wages while some for two weeks. We have taken up the issue with the departments concerned.”