Sweat, but don’t fret: The sorry narrative of MGNREGA workers

Contrary to govt claim, a large number of them have not been paid

By Siddhi Chauhan

Ihave been waiting for the wage that I was supposed to get five months before”, said a tall, bony figure with a pair of sunken eyes. When asked his name, the 58-year-old replied in a calm tone:”Andanappa.

He was carrying an empty tub that had remaining fodder stuck to its corner. He was drawn towards a group of people who were expressing their discontent with the government.

Andanappa and the group of people who were discussing their problems belong to Rajur, a village in Kukanoor taluk. Like thousands of Indians, they were employed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The Act guarantees 100 days of work for every rural household in a fiscal year.

A press release by the Union Ministry of Rural Development stated that 99 per cent of wage seekers received their wages and a total of 11.37 crore households availed of employment. The press release also said, a total of 289.24 crore person-days of employment had been generated. But the reality seems different from the government’s claims.

According to an article in Down To Earth, 2021-22 was the second year when the Union government delayed the payment of wages to workers employed under the Act. According to data issued by Management Information System, the amount for the previous year stood at Rs 8,794 crore. In February 2023, Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti disclosed that the government is yet to pay Rs 6,157 crore to 14 states, including Rs 638 crore to Karnataka. The reason mentioned by her was that the government had stopped payment for the same due to corruption and violation of rules.

Asked about his family, Andanappa informed The Observer there are 12 members in his household, of whom he is the sole bread-earner. In all there are 12 people in his team, of which three are children who attend school, while the rest support him in his work.

Asked about the problems he has faced because of delays in payments, Andanappa replied: “It is very difficult to manage with the small amount that we earn when you have to feed 12 members. My family’s financial condition has always been unstable due to which I worked in Gadag for 12 years. I recently moved to the village to earn and feed my family members.”

When The Observer asked why they do not complain to higher authorities, there was an agitated response. The calm tone of Andanappa changed to a rather pungent one. A smile intact on his face, he said: “These people don’t listen to us. I feel like we should even move and settle in Gujarat to draw some attention to us and our needs. Even MLAs don’t bother about us. It has been five years since he was elected but nothing has been done.”

Andanappa and five other people were employed for 15 days under the Act to build a Krishi Kund. Five months on, he has received only Rs 6,000 and is waiting for Rs 10,000.

M.M. Hassan, assistant agriculture officer, district panchayat, informed The Observer that the MGNREGA scheme also employs workers in order to create bunds in the semi-arid area. A large number of workers in the taluk create bunds and tanks to ensure farmers do not have to struggle during a drought.

Shashikala Devi, a 50-yearold who joined the conversation, faced a similar problem when she constructed a bund along with other women of the village. She worked for 30 days (15 in November and 15 in December) but didn’t receive any payment.

Asked if they took the matter to the panchayat, she said: “Yes, we did, but nothing happened. We asked various questions about it, which resulted in a huge ruckus. They refused to answer any questions and locked the door.”

According to the MGNREGA scheme, if work is not provided within 15 days of it being demanded, the worker will be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance. But this is not the case in the villages of Kukanoor.

Asked about unemployment allowance, Shambhu Hosamani who lives in Adur village, said: “People of the village don’t have a clear idea about various schemes and as a result they are not aware of this thing. They think of MLA as a god against whom one cannot revolt.”

The Observer, while talking to the workers, learnt that in such cases the role of middlemen is crucial. Another article by Down to Earthsaid many times the manipulation in data deprives people of their entitlements.

Asked about this, Shambhu replied: “I have often seen that in these cases the middlemen take advantage. It happens that due to duplication many people lose their hard earned money on which they had the right to.”

Read the complete story on www.theweekelyobserver.in

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