The Mamata Banerjee dispensation has decided to reach out to each of the 21 lakh-odd MGNREGA workers after their due wages are cleared by the Bengal government on March 1 to make the beneficiary aware that the payment is made by the state and not the Centre.
“Trained manpower will be deployed under the supervision of a Dy. Magistrate/Senior Officer, in the control rooms for calling every MGNREGS worker... They may be informed about the state’s initiative in providing relief from the state’s own fund and ensure that wage is credited to the right person,” reads an SoP sent to district administrations by the state panchayat department.
Sources in the Trinamul Congress said the campaign was required to ensure that the beneficiaries knew that their dues were being cleared by the state, not the central government.
“The party had carried out agitations demanding that due wages be cleared by the Centre…. Now, if beneficiaries get their outstanding wages in their bank accounts suddenly, they might be confused as to who cleared their dues. The state does not want to take any chance ahead of the polls and that’s why the campaign is being launched,” said a Trinamul insider.
According to the SoP, the state is planning a mechanism through which due wages would be credited to the bank accounts of the workers on March 1.
Although chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in the Assembly on Thursday that 24.5 lakh beneficiaries would be paid their dues on March 1, the SoP sticks to the earlier figure of over 21 lakh.
The panchayat department has asked the districts to set up control rooms at block, subdivisional and district levels to get in touch with all those MGNREGA workers who would get their dues from the state exchequer.
The camps will start on March 1, the day when the due wages will be credited to the bank accounts of the MGNREGA workers.
Sources said the panchayat department had already prepared a list of labourers who had not received their due wages since December 2021, when the Centre stopped the release of funds under the 100-day job scheme, alleging financial irregularities in the execution of the project in Bengal.
“According to the list, more than 21 lakh workers would be paid a sum of Rs 2,700 crore on March 1. The control rooms will be functional from the day when amounts are transferred to the bank accounts of the workers,” said a source.
The SoP mentioned that the control rooms would maintain a call log and a daily report had to be generated to know the number of calls made to the workers.
Apart from making calls, in each panchayat, an awareness meeting should be organised with all MGNREGA beneficiaries on March 2 or 3. To these meetings, the beneficiaries of the rural housing scheme, whose payments have been stopped since last year, will also be called.
The directive says the beneficiaries should be briefed on the state’s initiatives to provide relief to them. These meetings should be addressed by senior officials at the block and district levels.
The panchayat department has also decided to deploy self-help group members to visit the houses of the beneficiaries and distribute a letter from the chief minister to them. The letters would carry best wishes from the chief minister. Also, large-size hoarding, banners and flexes would be put up mentioning the efforts of the state government at panchayat and district levels.
The state would also undertake an awareness generation programme through loudspeakers and SMSes.
