MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme) staff’ protest against the new app-based attendance mechanism entered day 40 on the Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday. DMK MP Kanimozhi and RJD MP Manoj Jha prolonged their support to the protesters and demanded the new methods be rolled again.
Kanimozhi, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, mentioned she’s going to invite MGNREGA staff earlier than the committee. Jha, in the meantime, accused the federal government of not listening to the employees and confused on taking the protest to the streets. He mentioned his query in Rajya Sabha on Aadhaar-based fee to MGNREGA staff was not answered correctly by the federal government.
“What can I say about this session…You all are watching what is happening to the Parliament, or what has happened in Parliament. We should use past tense, there used to be a Parliament. When we go to the new building perhaps it would be even more difficult,” Jha mentioned.
“The only option available to us…they are afraid of the force on the street, not the force within the Parliament. If there is a synergy between the street and Parliament, they will take it back. We have seen them taking back so many so-called golden laws,” he mentioned.
Protest over app-based attendance system
Kanimozhi questioned the necessity for the app-based attendance system. “The government says this is against corruption, but finally it is ensuring that few people walk away with the money and it does not actually reach the people it was intended for. We know that this government does not believe in welfare, it believes in welfare of the few, they have been up in arms to protect some people,” she mentioned.
“This scheme was brought in for people, slowly their rights are being taken away. The wages in MGNREGA is less than what the state government approves of. Non-BJP governments, and West Bengal is a classic example, have not been given the money,” she mentioned.
The MPs had joined teams which can be holding a 100-day protest against the new cellular software based mostly attendance system, led by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha.
The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha mentioned the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has agreed to take remedial motion to handle a number of the staff’ woes.
A delegation of staff and activists from NREGA Sangharsh Morcha met SK Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development and Dharamvir Jha, Director of Department of Rural Development.
The delegation highlighted the problems arising from the imposition of two
National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) and Aadhar-Based Payment System (ABPS).
“While the Centre claims these measures will help reduce corruption, we find the ground reality to be the opposite. Workers across the country have lost crores in wages as a result of their attendance not being marked on NMMS or their bank accounts not being ABPS-enabled,” they mentioned in an announcement.
So far, staff from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, and West Bengal have joined the protest right here in Delhi.
The protest began within the nationwide capital on February 14, barely a month after digital attendance was made necessary for MGNREGA. The protesting staff say their attendance will not be getting marked and resultantly their wages are being deducted.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, higher often called MGNREGA or NREGA, is a flagship scheme aimed toward enhancing livelihood safety of households in rural areas of the nation by offering a minimum of 100 days of assured wage employment in a monetary 12 months to each family whose grownup members volunteer to do unskilled guide work.
(With PTI enter)
