The Bengal panchayat department has instructed all district magistrates to prepare a detailed list of MGNREGS job cardholders whose wages are due even after working under the scheme.
The instruction was issued after Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee promised in Delhi on October 3 that all 20 lakh deprived MGNREGS workers would get their due wages with 10 per cent interest by June 30, 2024.
Abhishek, currently agitating for the workers' wages in front of Raj Bhavan for the fourth day of his "indefinite protest", had also announced earlier that the due wages of 2,500 MGNREGS workers who joined the Trinamul protest on October 2 and 3 in Delhi would be cleared from the salaries of the party's elected representatives.
“You are requested to provide the list of rural unskilled workers who have worked under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in 2021-22 & 2022-23, but have not received wages till date.... You are requested to send this above-mentioned report by 10.10.2023 positively,” reads the letter issued by the commissioner of the panchayat department who looks after implementation of the MGNREGS in Bengal.
The central government stopped releasing money under the MGNREGS to Bengal in December 2021, citing funds misappropriation.
Sources said that many cardholders in Bengal worked in projects under the scheme between December 2021 and March 2022 since the state government went on with the scheme in the state expecting the Centre would release funds.
Officially, panchayat department officials said that the list was being prepared to know the names of those who did not get wages.
“In our portal, we don’t get the names of individuals who are yet to get their due wages. This why the list is being prepared,” said an official.
But sources in the administration pointed out that several reasons could be behind the move, especially when it was begun soon after Abhishek promised to clear their dues.
Although Abhishek said 20 lakh workers were deprived, there is no official list with the panchayat department. The list, to be prepared at the gram panchayat level, would reveal the actual number and names. Moreover, the state government can try to find a way to clear the dues of the deprived workers, sources added.
Third, the list is being prepared to ensure that no fake job card holder is included in the list of deprived beneficiaries after the union rural development minister, Giriraj Singh, claimed that 25 lakh fake job cards have been deleted in Bengal.
“Many job cards were cancelled after Aadhaar could not be seeded with job cards. Before we make the list of beneficiaries public, we have to ensure that no fake cardholder is included in the list. Otherwise, it will give the BJP a weapon to counter our movement,” said a Bengal minister.
Finally, the list could serve the ruling party politically as the ruling establishment can reach out to each of the beneficiaries individually through elected representatives or officials ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“If the state government can reach out to the deprived beneficiaries individually and talk to them, it would definitely benefit the ruling party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” said a source.
But senior government officials said that the second possibility was low. MGNREGS being a centrally sponsored scheme, the state finance has no wiggle room to clear wages under a central scheme. Moreover, a rough estimate says that the total dues are around Rs 2,700 crore, which would be tough for the struggling state exchequer to shoulder.
Sources said it would be interesting to see what emerges after the list is prepared.
“It is clear that Trinamul is not ready to let the issue die down ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The ruling establishment might have other plans to keep the agitation going after the list of beneficiaries is prepared,” said an official.
