Kantamal: Hundreds of workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) of Banarpal under Kantamal block in Boudh district complained at the collector’s grievance cell that they had not been paid the promised wages under the scheme, Monday.
MGNREGS is the social security scheme that aims to guarantee the right to work to the people. But here, in the block, the workers registered under the scheme have not got wages for the last 10 months even though the Act mandates that wages should be given within 7 to 15 days of work.
According to workers, a kuchha road worth of Rs 8, 23, 000 was made connecting Banarpal panchayat with Kantamal block in the district under MGNREGS scheme ten months back. Labourers from Sahajapita and Parbatipur village had been employed in the road work that was completed in April 2018. But the labourers have not been paid yet.
According to the workers, they have been complaining to the panchayat’s GRS Naveen Kumar Pradhan, but received no reply. They said that they had urged the officers concerned in this regard but to no avail.
The workers said that it is very difficult for them to run their families without wages. Some are forced to take loans and some others are selling their household articles, including utensils.
All these hardships have forced them to do manual labour in the neighbouring states. Locals have demanded the block administration to look into the matter and ensure early payment of outstanding wages.
PNN