Ukhrul body demands release of MGNREGA fund
Source: Chronicle News Service / R Lester Makang
Ukhrul, November 28 2023:
Ukhrul District MGNREGA Welfare Association (UDMGNREGAWA) has called on the state government to disburse pending payments of approximately Rs 15 crore allocated for the material components (MC) under MGNREGA for the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23 .
Speaking at a press conference in Ukhrul town, here, on Thursday, UDMGNREGAWA convenor S Leishishan urged the state government to release the pending payment by the first week of December while cautioning that it would have no option but to resort to intense agitations if the payment is not processed within the given time.
A total of Rs 21 crore is pending for the last two years, he informed, adding that the previous deputy commissioner Krishna Kumar had assured of making the pending payments in three instalments.
"Accordingly, the first instalment of Rs 6 crore was released earlier this year.
However, the remaining Rs 15 crore was not paid in-spite of the agreement," Leishishan said.
He continued that due to non-payment of the dues, many localities/ villages in the district are facing undue financial hardships as they have incurred significant expenses in executing various works during the said period.
"This has resulted in various problems.
Now, we are out of our financial means to create liabilities or demand fresh works for the ensuing years," he said, while urging the state government to resolve the issue on a priority basis to avoid further public unrest.
According to Leishishan, lack of a reliable internet connection has further compounded the problem, causing failures in financial transactions in various locations, especially in interior villages.
"There are only a few banks here, such as UCO, SBI, and PNB banks, which have set up electronic Fund Management Systems (e-FMS) to facilitate the process.
However, several beneficiaries are not receiving their wages, and the bank authorities have blamed it on technical issues," he said.
"As such, despite the introduction of e-FMS, banks are unable to successfully access or carry out transactions, with a large number of benefactors being left out," lamented the convenor.
He said that without a reliable internet connection, necessary processes like geo-tagging and others that link a physical location to' information and instructions, such as attendance of wage earners, are also failing, resulting in the failure of the implementation of works.
Leishishan further disclosed that the district currently has a total of over 34,499 job card holders.
However, the job card holders are only getting an average of 5 to 20 workdays a year in the district, instead of the promised 100 days of employment.
"This shows the lack of total implementation of the scheme in the district because wage earners are unable to avail job opportunities to its maximum potential as guaranteed," he rued.