Meeting with Joint Secretary, NREGA Division, MoRD

A Deputation from NTUI and the National Alliance of Agricultural Workers Union also met Ms. Anita Sharma, Joint Secretary, NREGA Division, Ministry of Rural Development to discuss and submit their comments on the Draft Transparency and Public Accountability Rules for NREGA that has been circulated by the Ministry along with raising key demands with respect to the Act. The major issues that were raised were:

  1. Increase of work hours from 7 to 9-hours: Instead of increasing the hours of work for workers in a project that is aimed at providing minimum standard of living, the ministry should attempt to further ease the Schedule of Rates so that the workers putting seven hours of work can earn a decent living wages, which takes care of the most basic needs of family specially calories consumption.
  2. National Minimum Wages for NREGA: A national minimum wage should be declared for NREGA works which should be calculated in such a way as to ensure a decent standard of living for agricultural workers. Workers must be paid enough for six days of work to enjoy a paid weekly holiday. Equal remuneration for equal work, irrespective of gender, caste, creed, race, religion and community must be paid. The task rate must be abolished and we must revert to daily wages. In addition, to ensure food security, part of the wage must be paid as grain at BPL prices, as was done under the earlier schemes of SGRY and NFFWP.
  3. Payment of unemployment allowance: The NREGA Act fails to mention the time period by which this allowance has to be given to workers who were not provided work, even after they applied. This is leading to delay in payment of unemployment allowance to no payments at all.
  4. BDOs acting as POs: Though the NREGA mentions that every state government has to appoint a full-time PO, who would work only for implementation of NREGA, most states are yet to comply with this directive. The existing BDOs act as POs and are given “additional charge” of NREGA.