Harish Rao blasts Centre for affecting livelihood of workers under MGNREGA

Hyderabad: Finance Minister T Harish Rao on Tuesday blasted the Central government for introducing additional rules for labourers working under the MGNREGA scheme, stating that it would affect their livelihood.

“The State government came up with several schemes for the welfare and development of the workers but the Centre has confined labourers to only 20 works under the scheme, left many people in rural areas jobless and affected their financial status in the State,” the Minister said, adding that the Centre had infringed on the rights of 1.21 lakh workers through its recent circular. “This is nothing but conspiring against the development of Telangana on all fronts,” Harish Rao said in a letter to union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Tuesday.

Under the scheme, a majority of works are carried out in summer and in the circular, the Central government mandated each employee to upload their photographs twice a day – at 10 am and 5 pm. “Is it advisable on the part of the government to introduce so many rules for workers who are getting a meagre salary of Rs.257 per day?” Rao asked.

Underscoring the need to increase the salary of workers in view of the rising prices of essential commodities, the Minister said the Centre should simultaneously increase the number of working days to 300 days apart from providing insurance and transport facilities to them. The Centre failed to mention the precautions to be taken by workers while working in summer and monsoon seasons, he said, adding that under the guise of opening new bank accounts, the Central government was delaying payments to workers under the scheme being implemented for the last 17 years.

MGNREGA scheme was not only providing employment to poor people in rural areas but also ensuring food security to them, he pointed out, adding that the Central government, however, was trying to abolish it without considering the interests of the poor.

The Central government, claiming that financial irregularities were taking place in the implementation of the MGNREGA, was considering scrapping the scheme and the delay in payment of salaries to workers indicates that the government was pushing for it, Harish Rao pointed out.

As much as Rs.10,000 crore in salaries of workers was pending with the Central government and a union Minister had admitted to this fact in Rajya Sabha, and that Rs.4,700 crore in salaries pertaining to workers in 15 States was pending so far. Of them, Rs.83 crore was yet to be paid to the workers in Telangana State.

The State government passed a resolution to link MGNREGA scheme with the agriculture sector. The State Assembly passed a resolution moved by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao in this regard and forwarded it to the Central government, he said.
“How can the Centre allocate Rs.73,000 crore in the union budget for 2022-23 for the scheme as Rs.18,380 crore was required just to pay last year’s dues?” Harish Rao asked.

In the circular, the Centre also directed that second placed candidates in urban local bodies elections should be appointed as supervisory officers and share information about the works to officials concerned through WhatsApp group. These instructions would demoralize employees and the elected representatives, he said. “The Centre’s instructions in the circular are aimed at giving power to BJP candidates who lost the elections. There is also a political conspiracy to it,” Harish Rao said.

Observing that the Central government earlier privatised several public sector undertakings (PSUs) affecting the livelihood of many employees, the Minister said it had now issued a circular to weaken the MGNREGA scheme that provided employment to people in rural areas.