Workers involved in desilting and restoration of water bodies under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in Gundri Hills here have claimed that they were not paid wages regularly.
Located about 17 km from Kadambur, Gundri panchayat has 22 villages and a population of 5,700. Ragi, maize and tapioca are the major crops in the rain-fed area. While farmers store a portion of the harvested produce for their own use, the remaining is sold for meagre price.
The villagers depend on jobs under MGNREGS scheme for their main source of income. Though the Central government had fixed a wage of ₹ 224 a day, the villagers claim that they were paid only ₹ 100 to ₹ 160 a day, for which they begin work at 9 a.m. and wind up by 5 p.m.
Jeyarani (40) of Kovilur in Gundri said that she worked for 69 days and was paid only ₹ 1,000.
“Money was credited in my bank account on September 9, 2019 after which I did not receive any money,” she said.
Over 120 workers, mostly women, are involved in various restoration works in the panchayat.
Chinnappan (65), a worker, wanted the number of job days increased to 200 a year. “There is no agricultural activity or other job options here. Hence, the job days should be increased and reasonable wage should be paid,” he added. “For 20 days’ work, I was given ₹ 2,000 as wages,” said another worker.
Most of the workers want the average wage hiked over ₹ 180 a day so that they could meet their needs. “Availability of work will prevent people from migrating to other places for work,” said Kaliappan, a villager.
