15 days given to govt to clear dues of MGNREGA workers

Jammu, November 14

All Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Conference (AJKPC), a frontline body of elected Panchayat members, has taken cognisance of a liability amounting to over Rs1,000 crore under the Centre’s flagship MGNREGA scheme in J&K and put the government on a legal notice.

“Under the MGNREGA scheme, liability on J&K government has grown to Rs1,000 crore over the past four years. The non-payment of wages to labourers for years is the worst example of human rights violations but the government here seems to be least bothered to clear it,” Anil Sharma, AJKPC state president, told reporters here.

Sharma said the prevailing situation had badly affected the MGNREGA programme. “Indifferent attitude of the government has forced us to take a legal route,” Sharma said while accusing officials of the Rural Development Department and senior officials of the Finance and General Administration Department of being responsible for the backlog of payment to the labourers.

The AJKPC leader said development activities under the scheme had come to a standstill across the UT since the last Panchayat elections held in December 2018.

“The AJKPC has served a legal notice to the government, asking it to clear the pending wages and dues under the scheme within 15 days from the date of notice i.e. November 11, 2019, failing which they may approach a court for legal recourse against the state government,” he said. — TNS