CM hikes honorarium of MNREGA workers, gram rozgar sevaks

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath government on Monday announced an increase in the monthly honorarium of MNREGA workers and gram rozgar sevaks.

The increase that will be effective from the current month meets a long-standing demand ahead of the UP assembly elections due in early 2022.

The chief minister made this and many other announcements while addressing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Conference in the state capital.

He also announced that an HR (human resource) policy would be brought for MGNREGA workers like one in Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission within a month.

“Under the defined HR policy, MNREGA workers will be entitled to 24 days’ casual leave and 12 days’ medical leave,” he said.

The CM also announced adding many other works of the rural development department in the job chart of MNREGA workers.

After this, the consent of the deputy commissioner MNREGA would be necessary before termination

of the services of rozgar sewaks so that no one can remove them forcibly.

He said that if the gram rozgar sevaks happened to be the close relatives or family members of the newly elected gram pradhan, they would be posted in the nearest vacant gram panchayat and their services would not be terminated.

“Similarly, after the marriage of the gram sevika, she will be posted in the new district. Apart from this, 180 days’ maternity leave has also been announced to be implemented for all female contractual employees,” Adityanath said.

The honorarium will now be Rs 10,000 each to MGNREGA workers and gram sewaks, Rs 15,656 to technical assistants, Rs 15,156 to computer operators, Rs 34,140 to additional program officer, Rs 15,156 to accounts assistant, Rs 18,320 to operation assistant, Rs18,320 to helpline executive, Rs 9,000 to class IV workers, Rs 14,100 to block social audit coordinator and Rs 19,900 to district social audit coordinator.

The CM said it was the state government’s resolve that the benefits of schemes be made available to the beneficiaries in a corruption-free and completely transparent manner. He said that this year the department should get work worth Rs 13,000 crore done by giving 100 days’ employment to at least 20 lakh families.

“If trained in a time- bound manner, women living in rural areas can play a big role in their self-reliance,” he said.

The CM recalled how he used to receive complaints of nonpayment of honorarium to gram rozgar sewaks for many years.

“My government immediately sanctioned Rs 225 crore and the department paid it in a time-bound manner. Similarly, in April 2020, the payment of MGNREGA contract workers, which could not be done earlier through the state level centralized pool, has now been arranged to be sent directly to their account,” he said.

If trained in a timebound manner, women living in rural areas can play a big role in their self-reliance

YOGI ADITYANATH, UP CM