MNREGA workers say Act should be available in Punjabi

The Act mandates that after a worker registers a demand for work, the worker should be informed about the details of the assigned work in written form by issuing a work allotment letter

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers of Nabha villages say they have seen the work allotment letter as per the Act for the first time in 14 years since it was implemented in 2005. The workers had been agitating for the past eight months for implementation of the Act as per rules and issuing of work allotment letter. The block development and panchayat office has started issuing the letter from this month and labourers say it has already liberated them from unpaid work.

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The Act mandates that after a worker registers a demand for work, the worker should be informed about the details of the assigned work in written form by issuing a work allotment letter. However, in common practice, workers are informed verbally.

So far, the department has issued letters in over 10 villages and BDPO Ajaib Singh Ghundar has assured them that the practice will be strictly followed from now. Since workers are now being deployed in written, they are being assigned only those projects authorised in the Act. Earlier, villagers said, they were asked to do menial work such as clean drains at the private properties of powerful families in villages.

“They would deploy us for 10 days at a public project and 3 days at a private property,” said Lakhvir Singh of Kansuha village. “Then we would be paid for only 10 days, that also after protests, as officials and powerful people recorded data to their convenience,” he said.

Workers said while earlier their ignorance was exploited in the village, they have decided to keep a check by consulting experts and holding seminars. They also demanded that the Act be made available in Punjabi.

“We are now keeping a check that attendance is taken on muster roll so that we get paid timely, which was also an issue earlier in many villages,” said Sunita Kaidupur, a member of MGNREGA front.

Another worker Dhanwant Kaur said, “Workers can be seen commonly complaining about not being paid full dues. Implementation of the law will help the Act meet its purpose.’

BDPO Ajaib Singh Ghundar said that he will ensure proper implementation of the Act and he is trying to obtain approval for maximum number of projects to accommodate the high demand of work under MGNREGA in Nabha villages.