Labour days under NREGS declining for the past five years in Kothagudem

According to official records, the number of person days of work approved in 2020-21 was 59.97 lakh while it was 51.55 lakh in 2021-22.

Kothagudem: The number of labour days (person days) of work approved under the flagship rural employment guarantee scheme, Mahatma Gandhi NREGS has been witnessing a gradual decline for the past five years in Kothagudem district. Cutting down the labour days has been defeating the scheme’s very purpose of providing employment to rural masses. The government approved 32.78 labour days for the year 2024-25 in the district under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

According to official records, the number of person days of work approved in 2020-21 was 59.97 lakh while it was 51.55 lakh in 2021-22. The person days of work approved in 2022-23 was 45.38 lakh and it was 43.16 lakh in 2023-24.

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However there has been a slight increase in the number of person days generated in each year as there is a provision to extend labour days based on demand. When comparing the figures of 2020-21 and 2024-25 there has been a fall of 27.19 lakh person days of work.

There are 1.29 active job cards and 2.16 active workers in Kothagudem district. As many as 2, 15, 741 workers have been linked to the Aadhaar based payment system. Of the total workers there are 1, 18, 736 female and 97, 066 male workers.

Speaking to Telangana Today Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham district general secretary Repakula Srinivas complained that the BJP government at the Centre neglected NREGS and reduced budget allocation by Rs 10, 000 this year and it is leading to lesser number of person days of work generation.

The purpose of the scheme is to ensure livelihood security to unskilled manual labourers in the summer season and many workers are not paid wages in time. But the funds are being diverted to cement and road works instead of giving priority to earth work.

The Centre recently notified wage revision fixing a wage of Rs 300 per day from Rs 272 per day in Telangana. However the revised wage is not yet been implemented, moreover the workers are not getting full wage because of a faulty system of work measurement, Srinivas complained.

In many instances because of the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), which was made mandatory from January, 2023 the workers attendance is not getting marked due to network issues in rural areas, he informed.

Further the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS), which was made mandatory last year, has made a large number of workers ineligible as they do not have ABPS accounts. Every family with a job card has to be given 200 days of work without measurement, Srinivas said.