MGNREGA workers demand hike in budgetary allocations
NEW DELHI: To draw the attention of policymakers over unpaid dues of workers engaged in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG N RE GA) scheme, hundreds of rural workers from across the country kick-started their three-day long protest to press for the adequate funding for the rural job guarantee scheme.
The protest has been organized by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, which is a national-level network of organisations and individuals working for the rights of MGNREGA workers.
Rural workers belonging to 15 different states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, have gathered in the national capital to raise their concerns against deliberate delay in payment of dues.
Commenting on the issue, founder member of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan Nikhil Dey said, “The delay in payment of wages is the major issue being faced by MGNREGA
Rural workers belonging to 15 different states, including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana, have gathered in the national capital to raise their concerns against deliberate delay in payment of dues
workers across the country. It is a tantrum of the government to shut the scheme by delaying the payment of wages as prolonged delay would force workers to switch to other options of livelihood.”
The government must increase budgetary allocations for MGNREGA so that poor workers get job opportunities for their survival, Dey said. In 2022-23, the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has kept the budgetary allocation for MGNREGA at Rs 73,000 crore, which is 25 per cent lower than the previous year’s revised estimates at Rs 98,000 crore.