Bhubaneswar : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi for addition of a default provision in NREGASoft to avoid delays in MGNREGS wage payments to workers.
The default provision will enable drawal, utilization and recoupment of budgetary allocation towards “State’s Revolving Fund” to prevent delay in payment of wages under the scheme.
Writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM said, “My Government has taken a slew of proactive measures to ensure proper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and has ensured that the benefits of the scheme reach the intended beneficiaries.”
The State of Odisha has done well in ensuring almost 100 per cent timely payment of wages. This is a testimony of the tremendous emphasis it has attached to the mandates of the Act, he pointed out.
Similarly, he said, the Government of India has taken significant steps in raising the Central budgetary allocation towards MGNREGS during the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which has enabled the State Government to provide succour to the vulnerable rural households especially the migrant families.
In order to ensure timely payment of wages, whenever there is a delay in receipt of funds from the Government of India towards the payment of wage liabilities, the State Government has created a Revolving Fund for payment of wages to the job card holders within the stipulated time as a contingent measure, the CM informed.
For this, the State Government has also made a budgetary allocation of Rs.1000 crore for the Financial Year 2022-23. The Revolving Fund is to be recouped after receipt of the fund in this regard from the Government of India.
The Ministry of Rural Development has been requested earlier for addition of a default provision in NREGASoft for drawal, utilization & recoupment of budgetary allocation towards State’s Revolving Fund to prevent delay in payment of wages. However, the Ministry is yet to take any action on the aforesaid proposals of the State Government, he added.
Therefore, he urged Modi to consider State’s proposal for addition of a default provision in NREGASoft for drawal, utilization & recoupment of budgetary allocation towards State’s Revolving Fund to prevent delay in payment of wages under the scheme.