Naveen Writes To PM On Release Of Pending MGNREGS Dues

Bhubaneswar: In order to ensure timely payment of wages to workers under MGNREG scheme, the state government has requested the Centre to release pending amount of over Rs 1088 crore soon.

In a letter to prime minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said Rs 1088.72 crore liabilities including Rs 377.91 crore as wage component and Rs 710.81 crore as material component are pending under MGNREGS for Odisha.

Appreciating the Centre’s measures for economic revival of rural areas in the post-COVID pandemic period, the chief minister said timely payment of wages to the poor jobseekers is the fundamental guarantee under the MGNREG Act. Similarly, timely release of payment for material is critical for creation of tangible and durable assets under MGNREGS, he added.

He requested the prime minister to advise the Ministry of Rural Development for timely release of funds for wage and material payment under MGNREGS.

Naveen also requested the prime minister to increase the labour budget of Odisha under MGNREGS to 25 crore person days for 2021-22. It has been necessitated as significant number of returnee migrants have stayed back due to reduced level of
economic activities during the pandemic and rise in demand for wage employment under MGNREGS, he added.