Wages of 4.3L MGNREGS workers pending in Andhra Pradesh

ONGOLE:  Due to non-release of funds by the government, around 4.30 lakh workers of the prestigious Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are suffering due to a lack of wages. Their daily wage payments are pending for more than a month now. A total of Rs 112.50 crore payments for nearly 4.30 lakh workers of the district are pending till date.

When contacted, the district authorities said that once the funds are released by the Centre, the dues will be cleared on priority. Non-payment of wages has forced the workers to look for alternative works to make ends meet. Of late, the MGNREGS workers are attracted to agricultural works, which have commenced in many parts of the district following copious rainfall, and Jagananna Colonies and ‘Nadu-Nedu’ works.  

As a result, the daily average workers attending the MGNREGS works have reduced to 1.74 lakh from the 4.3 lakh per day. “This problem is not confined to Prakasam district alone, other districts are also in the same boat,” an official with DWMA told TNIE. According to official information, for 2021-22, nearly 6.25 lakh out of total eight lakh workers were sanctioned job cards across the district. Out of them, nearly 4.5 lakh workers are attending MGNREGS works regularly. In June, on an average a maximum of 4.37 lakh workers attended the MGNREGS works. 

This apart, the government is crediting wages to the bank accounts of the workers based on the community they belong to. The SC community MGNREGS workers of the district have not yet received their wages since June 6 and the BC community workers have not received wages from June 10 and the ST community workers have not received wage payments since June 15. 

Usually, the Centre deposits the wage payments every week to the workers’ bank accounts after receiving their working days particulars through the online reports submitted by the mandal level MGNREGS staff. But from June 6, the payment amounts of the workers have not been deposited yet. 

“A total of 4.37 lakh MGNREGS workers in the district have not yet received their wages for more than a month. The amount pending up to July 10 comes to around Rs 112.5 crore. We are expecting the funds in one or two days. We have ordered the field staff to provide employment to all job card holders for Rs 100 per day, while complying with the norms,” DWMA project director K Seena Reddy said.