The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Actaims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas byguaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a ruralhousehold whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
That’s quoted straight off the website of Mahatma GandhiNational Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREG) Act.
In Chandasi panchayat of Nalanda district’s Noorserai block,though, the MNREG scheme website and its mission statement could well be fromanother planet. Here, people working under MNREGS are not residents of Chandasipanchayat but outsiders brought on contract.
And why is that? Locals allege that the mukhiya, purportedlyhand in glove with some officials, brings workers from outside, engages them inwork under the central government scheme and then withdraws money from thepost-office using passbooks of the genuine job card holders to pay theoutsiders.
It’s a scam, they allege. It’s rubbish of an allegation, themukhiya, Biranchi Yadav, shoots back.
For the record, Noorserai block has 17 panchayats, Chandasibeing one of them and comprising five villages. Most people here have their jobcards but do not possess the passbooks, meant to withdraw money against MNREGSwork.
"Our passbook is with the village mukhiya (BiranchiYadav). He withdraws money in the name of labourers in collusion with somepost-office staff. That money is then distributed among workers brought (fromoutside) for MNREGS work,” said Deepak Paswan, a Chandasi resident who hastaken his complaint against the mukhiya to the project officer for MNREGS atNoorserai block.
Ramlagan and Manoj Paswan have similar complaints ofirregularities against mukhiya Biranchi Yadav ” but while Deepak talks aboutnot getting work under MNREGS, Ramlagan and Manoj said they are yet to gettheir due wages.
A senior citizen, Ramlagan Paswan said he works as a “vanposhak” in Chandasi village and has two units of plants (each unit comprises200 plants) to look after. “I have got only Rs 4,200 over the last five months.I have a job card but I don't have my passbook. The mukhiya has cheated me bynot giving me my due share,” he alleged.
As per norms, Ramlagan ought to get Rs 144 per day.
Fellow ‘van poshak’ Manoj Paswan said he, too, has not beenpaid properly. The two have thus decided to take their complaint to the blockproject officer.
"But mine is not an exceptional case,” Manoj addedimmediately. “There are several others whose passbook lies with the mukhiya.”
But dismissing the allegations, mukhiya Biranchi Yadav toldGovernance Now over telephone: "My opponents are levelling falseallegations against me. I don't have the passbook of any labourer.”
in association with Governance Now
