Kolkata: Following the announcement of Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee on Saturday that her government will pay 21 lakh MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers their pending wages by February 21, state Chief Secretary B P Gopalika on Monday held a meeting with the district
magistrates and instructed them to verify the dues in their respective districts on the basis of an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) to be issued by the state Panchayats and Rural Development department soon.
On Saturday which happened to be the second day of TMC’s dharna on Red Road against non-clearance of MGNREGA dues by the Centre, Banerjee said that the dues will be transferred to their bank accounts. “The state government will clear the dues of 21 lakh MGNREGA workers, whose wages have been kept pending by the Central government for the past two years. Their wages will be transferred to their bank accounts by February 21.” Banerjee had said.
She also promised to give the pending money of Awas Yojana (housing scheme).“The central government is thinking that they will starve Bengal to death. We will not allow them to succeed in that... Have faith in me... I will try to slowly clear in step by step those funds which are still stuck,” she had said.
According to the Bengal government’s figures, funds due include Rs 9,330 crore under the Awas Yojana, Rs 6,900 crore under MGNREGA.