Forget about doling out mandatory unemployment allowance under the Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), majority of the Congress-ruled States in the country are yet to notify unemployment allowance rules under the UPA’s flagship rural job scheme launched in 2007.
The rules mandate the States to pay the daily allowance to a registered worker if he is not provided a job within 15 days of the receipt of job application. The rate of the allowance is fixed by the State Governments. But, it should not be less than one-fourth of the wages for the first 30 days of unemployment and half of the wages beyond this.
However, in a stark violation of the rights of the poor, who are mostly illiterate, the absence of the rules gives the States a leverage to escape from paying compulsory payments of unemployment allowance as enshrined in the MGNREGA.
Presently, only nine States — Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Andaman & Nicobar — have notified rules for unemployment allowance. But not a single State Government has paid the mandatory unemployment allowance to registered workers under the scheme in the past two years.
According to the data available with the Union Rural Development Ministry, allowance payment in Arunanchal Pradesh is due to a total of 11,05,510 job-days, the highest in the country followed by Manipur (2,97,139 job-days) while Jammu & Kashmir has held it up for 2,19,391 job-days in 2012-13.
A total of 2,48,500 job-days are due for Nagaland while Bihar has not paid unemployment allowance for 3,70,94 job-days. The Madhya Pradesh Government has not paid the allowance for 1,16,278 job-daysand Tamil Nadu's due is for 77,205 job-days. Overall, the States have to make payment for employment allowance for a total 23,00,199 job-days for the year 2012-13, as per the latest data from the RD Ministry.
Sources in the Ministry said that the number of days could be higher even. A detailed analysis of the data shows that just 10.19 per cent of the total household who had sought job under the scheme completed the mandatory 100 days of employment. Hence the number of days for which unemployment allowance has to be actually provided, should be on the higher side. The States are to be blamed for the gap — the non-issuance of dated receipt of demanded work to the workers prevents them from claiming their due, the sources said.
In 2006-09, only 4,078 workers were paid unemployment allowances in eight States while `1,23,589 was paid to eligible beneficiaries in 2010-11 in six States. “However, we are pursuing the States for payment of arrears on unemployment allowance,” said a senior RD Ministry official. He said that the Ministry has so far received 46 complaints in connection with unemployment allowance from various States. “However none of the States have reported regarding any court case being filed by MGNREGA workers on the issue,” he added.
The gross violation of the rights of the beneficiaries has not escaped the eyes of a parliamentary panel. It has suggested steps to ensure that State-wise details of payment of unemployment allowance form part of annual reports, which could be laid in Parliament or State legislatures.
Put-up job!
States Unemployment Allowance due
(no of job-days for fy 2012-13)
Andhra Pradesh 7
Arunanchal Pradesh 11,05,510
Bihar 37,094
Maharashtra 76,422
Madhya Pradesh 1,16,278
Nagaland 2,48,500
West Bengal 24,383
Manipur 2,97,139
Jammu&Kashmir 2,19,391
Chhattisgarh 8,535
Punjab 15,177
Total 23,00,199
HH* demanded HH* provided % of HH* completed
jobs jobs 100 days
5,12,69,634 4,96,64,305 10.19
*HH: Households