Portal:India:Development
MGNREGS chokes as funds dry up Subodh Varma The Times of India (Delhi)[ http://epaperbeta.timesofindia.com//index.aspx?eid=31808&dt=20141127&Ar=1#The Times of India] Nov 27 2014
No Work For 2Cr Families In 8 Months Over two crore households have been denied work under the fund-starved rural job guarantee scheme in the past eight months. This is a direct result of the deep cuts in funding of the scheme and various other changes initiated by the Modi government. With the employment situation still dire and the new government’s long-term efforts to catalyse industrial growth still on the drawing board, the failure of the MGNREGS is giving rise to anxiety and discontent in rural areas. According to the daily updated information system maintained by the ministry of rural development, over 10.6 crore households had applied for work till November 25 this year. But work was provided to 8.3 crore only, leaving 2.3 crore households without work. In the previous year, during the same period, work was provided to 9.8 crore households out of 10.9 crore who demanded it. This huge drop in the ability to provide work to poor rural households appears to be directly related to the cut in funding for the scheme. Fund allocation dropped from nearly Rs 39,000 crore in 201314 to nearly Rs 24,000 crore in the current year.
In 2012-13, work provided is shown as being in excess of demand by the ministry’s information system because it sticks to registered demand.
However, it is the actual work provided that reflects the real demand.
“Over 30% of people have been denied work this year in our district,” said Balwan Poonia, an activist from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan. “Although the wage rate is Rs 143 per day, those who did manage to get work were paid just Rs.100 per day.” The situation is worse in arid districts like Churu and Jaisalmer, where most people are now sitting idle after agricultural operations have mostly finished, Poonia added.
In the tribal-dominated district of Aravali in Gujarat, the job guarantee scheme never really got off according to Dayabhai, a local activist. But, currently, even the meager work that used to trickle out has slowed down. “On paper the work is given but actually , the local politicians simply trick the people and swallow the money,“ he said.
The funds situation is so desperate that at the grampanchayat level, pending accumulated liabilities are over Rs 14,000 crore, ministry data shows. This has happened because panchayats have gone ahead and undertaken works promising payments to workers and material suppliers -but the funds are not being disbursed. Over Rs 7,864 crore is stuck at various levels in the hierarchy , from blocks, through districts to state-level bodies. But even when these funds manage to reach the gram panchayats, they will be able to cover just half the liabilities.
Many of the lucky ones who did manage to get work have not been paid wages, some for up to three months.According to the information system database, Rs 8,908 crore was due to workers as back wages going back up to 90 days.
The logjam has severely affected ongoing works across the states. Over 26 lakh works that were begun earlier are reported to be running behind schedule by up to 90 days.
