Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader Sunil Jakhar on Monday accused the Punjab Government of not clearing the payment of Rs47 crore arrears to MGNREGA workers even as the Central Government had released Rs200 crore to the State exchequer.
lambasting the State Government for failing in providing work to MGNREGA job card holders in 6,538 of 13,056 villages even for a day, Jakhar said that as many as 11,15,192 cards were issued by the end of last financial
year but most of them were denied.
“Such job card holders could not earn wages by picking cotton even as about 70 percent of cotton had been damaged due to white fly attack this year,” he said.
ClP leader said that the central government had, this year, released Rs200 crore to Punjab under the MGNREGA schemes but the SAD BJP Government has still to clear the arrears worth Rs47.06 crore to MGNREGA workers. Such workers have own reasons to observe “black Diwali” this year, he added.
Recalling that MGNREGA guaranteed minimum of 100-day job to card holders but the average in Punjab falls at five percent only, Jakhar said that this is shameful for the political top brass who boasted of good Governance and welfare of poor people.
He demanded immediate payment of arrears to workers and warned against diverting of funds to purchase material. The state had pocketed off Rs38.42 crore on purchasing material this year, he
added.
Jakhar said that arrears in ludhiana district were assessed as Rs3.78 crore, Bathinda Rs3.04, Ferozepur Rs2.97, Fatehgarh Sahib Rs3.25, Fazilka Rs2.83, Barnala Rs3.02 and Mansa Rs3.16 crore.
The same should be
disbursed immediately, he demanded.