Vijayawada: 40% summer allowance to NREGA workers demanded

Vijayawada (NTR district): The Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham NTR district committee staged a sit-in at the District Water and Management Agency (DWMA) office in Gollapudi near here on Wednesday, demanding payment of 40 per cent summer allowance to the workers and granting of additional person days for those, who completed 100 person days.

Upadhi workers raised slogans demanding increase in the budget allocation and enhance the existing wage of Rs 272 per day to Rs 500. AP Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham State general secretary V Venkateswarlu participated in dharna and explained the facilities that must be provided to the workers. Later, along with NTR district committee president V Naga Raju and general secretary K Kalyan, he submitted a representation to DWMA Project Director J Sunitha.

Addressing the gathering, Venkateswarlu said that during summer, the government should pay 40 per cent additional wage to every Upadhi worker. ‘Earlier, the Central government paid three types of summer allowances. However, they are not being implemented,’ he informed. He came down heavily on the BJP-led Central government for gradually reducing the budget allocation to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. He explained that the Central government allotted Rs 89,000 crore in 2022-23 fiscal year and strangely, it was reduced to Rs 60,000 crore in 2023-24 financial year. It showed a drastic impact on Upadhi workers and automatically person days were decreased, he added.

AP Vyavasaya Karmika Sangham leaders P Ananda Rao, Jamalamma, Anjaneyulu and others participated in the dharna.