Sixth anniversary of the implementation of the scheme
On the sixth anniversary of the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme (MNREGS) there were protests outside the office of State Minister for Panchayat and Rural Development Subrata Mukherjee here on Thursday against the absence of work and delay in payment of wages under the scheme.
Stating that so far an average of 15 person-days of work per household had been provided under the scheme in the State, Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity (PBKMS) representatives raised slogans and threatened to return the job cards if work is not provided under the scheme. They also complained about the tardy implementation of the scheme.
Data made available on the scheme in West Bengal projects that given the present trend, not more than 20 days of work will be achieved in the current fiscal.
PBKMS State committee member and social activist Anurdha Talwar said the West Bengal Government officials were apathetic towards implementing the scheme in the State. Action has not taken against erring officials.
She also pointed out that the government has not adequately dealt with cases of corruption related to the scheme. Panchayat department officials admit that 139 cases of corruption under the scheme have been reported during the on-going financial year.
Pointing out that the implementation of the Centre's flagship programme for alleviating rural poverty and creation of work would have saved the State from agrarian distress, which has resulted in suicides of not just farmers and also five agricultural labourers, Ms. Talwar said the State's performance has been worse than the previous fiscal when an average of 27 person-days of work per household had been provided.
“It is possible to deal with the agrarian crisis with proper implementation of the scheme. The scheme has provisions of developing the land of small and marginal farmers and digging up ponds,” said Ms. Talwar.
There is also disparity in the implementation of the scheme across the State. While the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council has been able to give 27 person-days of work per household, in the hill sub-divisions of Darjeeling district in Coochbehar it has been just 10 days.
There has been poor implementation of the scheme in the districts that have been affected by Maoist activity in recent time. There has been an average of 13 person days of work per household in Paschim Medinipur district, 17 days of work in Bankura district and 19 days in Purulia district.
