The government’s decision to withdraw registration of MGNREGA (rural job guarantee scheme) workers under the Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Act will lead to denial of various benefits, such as health, safety, to crores of workers, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), said in a statement.

“Less than 32 per cent of construction workers were registered under the Act as on January 2016. The amount collected as cess was ₹ 24,277.38 crore, while it has been estimated that ₹70,270 crore ought to have been collected. And out of this only a measly ₹5,684.8 crore has been spent for the benefit of nearly 2.3 crore workers registered with the board,” said Tapan Sen, General Secretary, CITU.

Referring to directions issued to all State governments on February 10, 2017, Sen alleged that the BJP government at the Centre had snatched the social welfare scheme given by the Construction Welfare Board under the Act.

The Labour Ministry’s letter, says “directions were issued by the Ministry’s letter under reference regarding registration of MNREGA workers who have completed 50 days of work in a year under MNREGA under BOCW (RECS) Act on the basis of simpler process like self certification by the applicants or certification by Panchayat etc.”….The issue of registration of MNREGA workers as beneficiary under the Building and other construction workers (RECS) Act, 1996 has been re-examined in the Ministry and it has been decided to withdraw these directions.”

Sen, also a Rajya Sabha MP, said the Centre’s direction would lead to lakhs of MNREGA workers, most of them women, not getting benefits to pursue education for their children, medical aid etc, calling for its immediate withdrawal.

comment COMMENT NOW