MGNREGS of no help

SAMBALPUR: Migration is a way of life for the labourers, landless peasants and marginal farmers in many districts of Western Odisha. Year after year, the cases of torture and abuse fail to deter the farmers from migrating. Taking advantage of the dire need of money for the farmers to celebrate Nuakahi, labour sardars offer advances and pack them off just after the festival.

Not only are they forced to toil hard in these places and live in inhuman conditions, they are poorly fed and their grievances go unheard. The labour sardars, who lure them with promise of high wages, are also nowhere to be seen in their time of need. The employment guarantee scheme of the Centre has failed to prevent migration as only a few labourers are evincing interest to work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). The State Government, on the other hand, has announced minimum wage for unskilled labourer at `200 per day but in reality, the labourers charge anything between `250 and `300 for eight hours of work. Under the MGNREGS, the daily wage is  just `176.

To add to their woes, the Ministry of Rural Development delays release of funds under MGNREGS. Payment of wages was delayed by about six months in Sambalpur last year and this year, nobody is willing to work under the scheme. Sources said while the labour sardars can avail licence from district labour office to take labourers for work, they rarely do so.

Experts working in the field of migration feel that registration desks at departing hubs, including railway stations and bus stands, cannot only smoothen the process but also help the State Government and NGOs keep a track of the migrants. With the State Government having no data on  the number of people migrating for work and a system to track their condition, these migrants are exposed to exploitation.

Kandhamal secures 1st rank
Phulbani: Kandhamal district has secured first position as far as implementation of MGNREGS throughout the State is concerned. Collector Brunda D said the scheme has been successfully implemented in all the 12 blocks of the district. From April 1 this year, work has been provided to 63,406 households and 22,07,279 man-days generated.

During this period, the district has spent J6,020.78 lakh out of which, wage component is J5,004.41 lakh which is 83.11 per cent of the total expenditure. The scheme has covered 74 per cent of SC/ST population, the Collector added.  DRDA Project Director Sarat Chandra Panda said 4,111 projects have been completed under MGNREGS, which has also been instrumental in bringing down migration.  The Collector said timely payment of wages is also being ensured.