June 30, 2015
WB Govt increases payment for MGNREGA workers in the State
The West Bengal Government is increasing the payment for the workers to take part in MGNREGA. This was decided by the state employment guarantee council.
“There was no concept of any increment for workers under the MGNREGA. This is for the first time we have decided that all workers will get a yearly increment payment of three percent. And those who have worked for more than six years will first get an increment of five percent and then three per cent,” Subrata Mukherjee, State Panchayat and Rural Development Minister said.
The Minister also said that the Union Government is delaying release of money for work done under projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in West Bengal in order to harm them.
“The Centre is delaying the release of money for work done under many centrally-sponsored schemes. So we are unable to make payments to people who have worked. And, people who are not getting the payments will lose the zeal to work and eventually will not go for work,” the Minister said.
“In the last financial year, after six months of work, the Union Government had almost stopped releasing money for which we could not make payments and was forced to stop the work at peak time of the year,” he said, adding, that around “Rs.1,900 crore was due from the Centre”.
“The Centre paid us the due amount not in the last year and it was exhausted while paying the outstanding amounts. We are yet to get another Rs.450 crore,” Mukherjee said.
