Government urged to revive APNA-GPS Project

Anantapur: Andhra Pradesh NGO Alliance (APNA), a conglomeration of NGOs, engaged in organising of NREGS workers into Gram Panchayat Samakyas (GPS) is demanding that the new YSR Congress government restart the GPS run with the active involvement of APNA. They were earlier suspended by the previous TDP government.

APNA is also opposing the direct transfer of wages into the accounts of NREGS workers on the premise of inordinate delay by the Central government in effecting transfer of funds. The Centre had introduced National Electronic Fund Management System (NEFMS) for transfer of funds directly into workers accounts to prevent diversion and misuse of funds by the State governments concerned.

The Centre is of the view that NREGS funds were being diverted and misused for supporting other schemes. APNA observes that the Centre to prevent a lesser evil was resorting to a greater evil with inordinate delay in payments of timely wages and in most of the cases for months, defeating the very purpose of wage employment.

During the TDP regime, APNA and GPS had become a casualty to unfriendly opinions of certain officials in the State Rural Development Commissionerate. This resulted in the ultimate suspension of APNA and watering down the very spirit of the APNA-GPS project concept. APNA is basically involved in organising of the NREGS labourers into GPS for the express purpose of handling and tackling NREGS workers' problems and to bridge the gap between the governments and the NREGS workers.

Young India, an NGO spearheading the movement for protecting the rights and privileges of the NREGS massive national workforce, was instrumental in organising of rural workers into Gram Panchayat Samakyas for asserting their rights and privileges. Founder president of Young India, Narender Bedi, told The Hans India that Young India had done pioneering work in organising the workforce into GPS way back in 1984 when the first mandal level union was formed.

"We started with land struggles under five Land Reforms Acts. In 20 years our unions re-registered 79,000 acres on the names of 42,000 union members. In 1986 our unions started a movement demanding right to work for rural labour. For 20 years they struggled and finally in 2005 the Congress legislated it, it was later given the name MGNREGA," he maintained.

Bedi says that re-launching of APNA will help in generation of jobs by it to an extent of 4,000 jobs in rural areas. The APNA is engaged not only in training of union members into an assertive workforce but also in creating awareness on the very provisions of the NREGS Act.

The Act provides for compensation payment to workers in case of delayed payment of wages etc. Vested interests in the State Rural Commissionerate are opposed to revival of APNA as they do not want APNA to come in the way of their wage related scams.

Bedi is urging the immediate intervention of Rural Development Minister Peddireddy and Chief Minister Jagan Reddy for the welfare of the massive rural workforce in the State.