TMC team to meet Union min to demand release of MNREGA dues
Kolkata: Claiming that Centre was flouting its own Act, the State Panchayats and Rural Development minister Pulak Roy lashed out at the central government on Wednesday in the state Assembly for not paying the state's due to the tune of Rs 7106.63 crore in connection with MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme popularly known as 100 days works.
Meanwhile, raising the issue of non-payment of MGNREGA dues of Bengal, a ten-member delegation of Trinamool Congress, led by Sudip Bandopadhyay, leader of the AITC Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha, is scheduled to meet Union Rural Development & Panchayati Raj minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday.The delegation would discuss issues related to outstanding MNREGA dues and other matters related to the rural job guarantee scheme.
The meeting with the Union minister is part of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's initiatives to fight for the rights of MGNREGA workers by ensuring the payment of their outstanding dues.
According to Roy, Rs 3,334.56 crore is due from December 26, 2021 as wages of unskilled workers while another Rs 3772.07 crore is due in connection with materials required for 100 days work. The last time the Centre released funds for materials was on August 14, 2021.
"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to the Prime Minister on May 12 urging him to release funds considering the hardship faced by the 100 days workers, but there has been no response. Wages for MGNREGA form an important part of the livelihood of rural people and considering this importance the ACT mandates that wages must be paid within 15 days. However, the Centre is violating its own Act," Roy said.
"There are 1.43 crore job card holders among which 1.04 crore are active. So 1.04 crore workers are being deprived. I feel that a voice should be raised by all legislators in the House irrespective of party colour against such deprivation of Bengal," said Roy.
Roy maintained that the proposal for the creation of 32.14 crore man-days has been sent to the Centre on February 22 for the financial year 2022-23, but it has not been approved till date.
In reply to a query from MLA Tajmul Hossain, Roy said that in the financial year 2020-21, as many as 472 village roads have been constructed by his department whose length is 2178.96 km. At least 1829 village roads have been repaired whose length is 8044 km.
In the same fiscal, 107 roads were newly constructed with the financial assistance of NABARD, the total length being 489.02 km. Roy said that under the Awas Yojana project from 2016-17 till date of the ongoing 2022-23 financial year 3.20 lakh dwellings have received sanction for the tribal population out of which over 2.96 houses have already been constructed.