Postal dept slammed for negligence

Inordinate delay in payment of wages to MNREGS workers

Visakhapatnam: In Visakhapatnam district, payment of wages to workers under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) has been delayed inordinately. This is not the case where the Central government has been dragging its feet to credit the wages to the workers' accounts. But the Postal department has also been dilly-dallying over the disbursements of the payments to the labourers.

According to the official data available, in the 39 mandals of Visakhapatnam district, there are 94,123 NREGS workers whose payments of Rs 11.37 crore is pending for disbursal with the Postal department. Of this, Rs 1.78 crore was blocked over the Aadhaar seeding related issues. In the mandals of Chintapalle, Munchingiputtu, Payakaraopeta, the pending payments touched more than Rs 1 crore. There are many villages in the Agency area where the delay in payment of wages is rampant.

Even after passing of more that than 90 days, the Postal department is sitting on Rs 5 crore wages without handing it over to 34,978 workers. In the same way, 60 days were gone by; but 14,259 workers are waiting to receive the money for their labour work and this amount comes around Rs 86 lakh. As many as 40,259 workers were not paid thougt 30 days were passed and the pending money amounts to Rs 4.96 crore.

“Whenever I asked the staff of Postal department for my NREGS wages, I was told that the money was not credited in my account. But, I have seen my name in the payments credited list put out by the government,” said Pusala Ramu of Ganaparthi village in Munagapaka mandal of the district.

Echoing his views, there are other villagers who also complain that their frequent pleas to the official concerned seeking the pending wages have fallen on deaf ears. Moreover, the respective officer always refused to give an acknowledgement for my complaint, allege the workers.

Samalochana convener Chakradhar Buddha, who has been part of many researches on NREGS, observes that the Postal department has no stringent monitoring system to look the inordinate payment delays to employment scheme workers.

Pointing out that Rs 777 crore of 70 lakh NREGS workers was already pending with the Central government, which takes its own time to credit the amount, he said in this particular case the Postal department has to take blame for non-disbursement of the wages.

When contacted Satyanarayana, Additional Superintendent of Anakapalle Post office region, said it was not the fault of Postal department. “It is usual that pending of Rs 9 -10 crore NREGS wages keeps happening. Moreover, the workers do not come and take their wages,” he said. When tried to contact Postmaster General of Visakhapatnam Region, the respective officer is unavailable to give a comment on the issue.

By Y Abhishek Paul