DINDIGUL: Widows and elderly women working under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme are upset over the merger of eight village panchayats to the Dindigul City Corporation as it would render them ineligible for jobs under the scheme.
The MGNREGA Act, 2005 specifies that only persons in rural segments will be allotted work. After incorporation into the corporation, the villages will be classified as urban areas. The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) estimated that around 9,000 women are registered under MGNREGA across the eight village panchayats.
According to the latest G.O, Adiyanothu, Anaipatti, Balakrishnapuram, Chettinaickenpatti, Kurumpatti, Mullipatti, Pallapati and Seelapadi village panchayats would be merged with the city corporation. As per district records, over 17,000 persons are registered from these village panchayats under MGNREGA.
All India Democratic Women Association (Dindigul) secretary V Pappathi said, "Widows and elderly women living here are facing injustice. Though the wages are meagre, it offers the families some support. They cannot easily migrate to another village to register for the scheme."
Speaking to TNIE, Kurumpatti Panchayat president V Murugan said, "Around 1,900 persons are registered under the scheme in my village. When such a proposal was issued, we directly petitioned the CM Cell and Dindigul District Administration. Despite our protests, they have included us."
"My village used to have 16 leather processing units. Due to a fall in exports and financial issues, the number has now reduced to six. Currently, 2,500 registered persons are earning a meagre wage of Rs 290 daily for only 100 days. The work is not regular but offers some kind of financial support. We passed several resolutions in grama sabha meetings and sent objection letters to the district administration, but no action was taken," Pallapatti Panchayat president N Paraman said.
Speaking to TNIE, an official from the district administration said, "There is an increase in the number of habitations in the last few years, with the population doubling in many areas in these villages. Besides, even in low habitation populations, there is a jump from 35% to 60%."
"When the state announced the upgradation of Dindigul City Corporation, many residents welcomed it. However, panchayat presidents objected to it since the inclusion could cause them financial problems and they would be ineligible for work under MGNREGA. We have sent a detailed report to the Department of Panchayat and Rural Development (Chennai)," he added.