Workers enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in various grama panchayats have expressed displeasure over the long-pending payment of the material cost they had borne for construction projects and the delay in addressing issues pertaining to their e-muster roll entry.
Though the payment of individual wages has already been cleared by the authorities, the material cost is yet to be reimbursed, thanks to the alleged delay on the part of the Centre in sanctioning the required funds.
Heads of local bodies in Kozhikode pointed out that the delay had put thousands of workers in crisis. They argued that many were yet to get back the money they had spent one-and-a-half years ago.
“The app-based e-muster roll introduced in the name of bringing more transparency in the scheme is proving a headache for hundreds of elderly workers with limited technical knowledge,” said the head of a local body. She added that the panchayat had to arrange technically skilled officers to handhold each worker and complete the tedious online procedures to avoid payment interruptions.
Some local body heads are unhappy with the new regulations on spending funds for rural road construction work. According to them, the reduced share of funds for rural road projects may impact the implementation of MGNREG schemes in many villages.
Meanwhile, several local bodies have announced their support for the formation of local action committees to take up the matter with the Central and State governments.
Panchayat-level protests are likely to be organised on September 28. Coordinators of the district-level campaign said a protest would be staged in front of the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on October 1.
