'15 depts engaged 28.44L workers, about Rs 1147.05 cr paid as wages'

Seven months have elapsed in the current fiscal, but the centre has not disbursed a single penny in connection with MGNREGS

MP | 4 Nov 2022 | Kolkata: Chief Secretary HK Dwivedi on Thursday urged the secretaries of various government departments to take measures for the engagement of more MGNREGS (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) job card holders in different government work. 

As on date, 15 departments have engaged 28.44 lakh job card holders with mandays generated to the tune of 5.18 crores and wages paid has been Rs 1147.05 crore. As per Nabanna sources, there are presently 1.08 crore job card holders in the state. 

The engagement of 100 days workers in different works started from May after Chief Minister Mamata Banejee had instructed the administration to take measures for engaging job card holders in government projects in the backdrop of centre's deprivation when it comes to paying of wages under MGNREGS. 

Seven months have elapsed in the current fiscal, but the centre has not disbursed a single penny in connection with MGNREGS. Among the 34 states and union territories, Bengal is the solitary state and Lakshadweep (UT) that has not received any funds for 100 days work. 

Funds under NREGS to the states and union territories is a continuous process and Central Government is supposed to make funds available to States/UTs for the implementation of the scheme. 

"The Chief Secretary has asked us that non-technical work that involves unskilled workers should be executed by deploying job card holders," a departmental secretary who attended the meeting at Nabanna said. 

The departments that have engaged job card holders are namely – Panchayats and Rural Development, School Education, Irrigation, North Bengal Development, Public Works, Public Health Engineering, Water Resources Investigation, Forest, Fisheries, Agriculture, Women and Child Development, Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education, Backward Classes Welfare, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs and Paschimanchal Unnayan. 

The Panchayats department has engaged 23.256 lakh job card holders and has paid wages over Rs 832 crore. The North Bengal Development department has engaged 53 but paid Rs 83.9 crore as wages. 

The PWD has engaged 555 and has paid Rs 60.2 crore. Among the districts, South 24-Parganas have engaged 2.95 lakh job card holders and have paid wages of Rs 146.82 crore, Murshidabad had engaged 3.59 lakh and paid Rs 134.28 crore. 

East Midnapore has also paid Rs 103.45 crore by deploying 2.05 lakh card holders. The district magistrates attended the meeting in virtual mode. 

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/15-depts-engaged-2844l-workers-about-rs-114705-cr-paid-as-wages-498012