NREGS
MGNREGA workers who have completed their e-KYC at their bank branch can collect cash at these customer service points by presenting their Aadhaar card and biometrics. They can also approach business correspondents for the same purpose.
However, people belonging to the Adivasi community face several challenges, such as disparities in the payment channels and their toilsome wage-collection journeys, in accessing MGNREGA payments.
In the Paderu Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) area, the average number of people served by each bank branch stands at 34,000 for Adivasis and 7,000 for non-Adivasis, per a study conducted by LibTech India, a research organisation in the town.
The study says that nearly 85% of the Adivasis in the Paderu ITDA receive their wages through business correspondents or customer service points, while only 12.5% have access to banks, and a mere 2.5% use ATMs. This disparity is understandable, given the scarcity of bank branches in hilly regions. However, even when these are accessible, the MGNREGA workers are redirected to business correspondents or customer service points.
LibTech’s study shows that approximately 37% of the workers have to commute more than 10 kilometers to access their wages, with even higher percentages observed for bank branches (48%) and ATMs (58%).
by EAS Sarma and Chakradhar Buddha
31/08/2023
the MoRD made the following claims: https://thewire.in/government/mord-unable-or-unwilling-to-see-ground-realities-on-nrega-workers-group
1. There is no unmet work demand under the scheme.
2. This year’s Budget allocation for the scheme – at Rs 60,000 crore – is adequate, since supplementary funds are made available later in the year.
3. There is no delay in wage payments.
4. The National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app works smoothly and without glitch, with issues being resolved in real time.
All of these claims, the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has said in its letter, do not match the ground realities.Many households, the letter says, do not know how to apply for more work, and that’s why all demand is not visible.
The Budget allocation is far from adequate, the letter continues, and the ministry is “deceiving” people by claiming that it is:
“It [the ministry] knows very well that the supplementary allocation proves inadequate every year and leads to wage arrears being carried over to the next financial year (more than Rs 10,000 crore this year). Meanwhile wage payments are delayed and NREGA works are often held up.” “The Ministry is careful to mention that payments are only “generated” within 15 days in most cases, but it knows very well that wage payments are routinely delayed after the generation of payment orders. Many recent studies show that payment delays remain the norm rather than exception.”
14/02/2023
In a surprising move, the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has reduced drastically in this year’s Budget – to Rs 60,000 crore. This despite the fact that the revised estimate for FY’23 was at Rs 89,400 crore, up from the budget estimate of Rs 73,000 crore.
https://thewire.in/economy/nrega-budget-allocation-2023-24
by Jahnavi Sen
01/02/2023
The Right to Food Campaign stands in solidarity with the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha’s national call for action across the country to revive the proper functioning of MGNREGA. The Right to Food Campaign is extremely concerned and anguished with the continued violation of MGNREGA across the country. MGNREGA is being implemented in a manner that is contrary to its spirit. Millions of workers have not been paid for the work they have done for several months, leading to a situation of bonded labour under a government programme. Due to the existence of systematic corruption within MGNREGA on a large scale, in states like West Bengal, both the union government and the state government have not been able to resolve the issues related to the release of payments which led to a severe burden on workers. Around 2700 crores of wages are pending since December 2021 alone in West Bengal.
https://countercurrents.org/2022/09/right-to-food-campaign-demands-proper-functioning-of-mgnrega/
MGNREGA which directly provides employment and also helps create rural assets has been short-shifted by this budget. Despite over ₹21,000 crores of pending liabilities, the allocation under MGNREGA is only 73,000 crore, while in 2020-21 the spending under the schemes was over 1.1 lakh crore. The negative impact of the economic crisis that began even before the pandemic led to disruption has fallen disproportionately on those at the bottom of the pyramid. Multiple reports and surveys capture the intense distress among the poor and marginalised sections of society exacerbated due to the pandemic and ensuing restrictions and further slowdown of the economy. In this context, spending on social protection schemes such as the MGNREGA became especially important to improve rural distress.
Press Release
22/09/2022
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MGNREGA ‘Under Attack’? Rural Workers Demand Increased Budgetary Allocations Ronak Chhabra | 02 Aug 2022 At the call of NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, rural workers from over 15 states started a three-day protest at Jantar Mantar on Tuesday. The morcha said in a press statement: "NREGA is under attack by the government. Consistently decreasing budgetary allocations, wage payments delayed for months, negligible compensation paid for delays, and woefully low wages plague NREGA. These issues are widespread across the country,”
Shankar Singh of Rajasthan-based Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) told Newsclick on Monday that the delay in payment of wages was the biggest issue being faced by rural workers associated with MGNREGA across the country. “It only gets worse in the second half of each year as “inadequate” funds for the scheme runs dry,”
the Peoples’ Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG), a coming together of researchers and activists, in its MGNREGA scheme tracker for July this year highlighted that the Central government had already exhausted two-thirds of its scheme’s budget. “With eight months remaining, the pending dues are expected to increase,”
On Tuesday, rural workers from various states also highlighted the distress that is being caused to them, owing to the recently introduced National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app – it was launched in May 2021 to ensure monitoring of the scheme and taking real-time attendance of workers at worksite.
“But it has only caused us trouble and nothing else,” rued Pramila Devi, a 40-year-old rural worker, hailing from Bihar’s Vaishali district. “Many a times, it doesn’t record our attendance because of poor network due to which the workers lose their wages. There is no attendance app for the officers and ministers, then why it is for the workers?”
The advent of ‘app-solute’ chaos in NREGA by Chakradhar Buddha & Laavanya Tamang June 25, 2022 https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-advent-of-app-solute-chaos-in-nrega/article65561536.ece
Demand of record 30 million jobs for MGNREGS reflects rural distress Himanshu Nitnaware 07 July 202 https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/governance/demand-of-record-30-million-jobs-for-mgnregs-reflects-rural-distress-83603 Men outnumbered women for the 1st time in job demand
The scheme has not recorded such demand since its inception in 2006. A section of economy watchers related such demand to India’s ongoing rural distress, inflation and unemployment.
This year’s level was 43 per cent more than the pre-pandemic (2015-2019) levels month of May.