Forest workers under NREGS: Circular misunderstood by junior officers,says department

Incidentally,the same day,Chief Minister Narendra Modi and the state cabinet had a meeting where it was decided to order all “labour oriented” work to be brought under NREGS. Various departments were asked to put up the proposals.

An official order to this effect was issued to the Forest Department on April 22,stating: “Van Vibhag Haithan na “Labour oriented” shakya tamam kamo NREGA yojana haithan haath dharva babat” (“all labour-oriented works of the Forest Department are to be brought under NREGA”). But now,with the Union Ministry for Rural Development investigating the issue of proposed usage of NREGS funds to pay regular forest workers,senior Gujarat Forest officers say the circular was “misunderstood” in some areas,including Gora Range.

In the wake of the government circular,K J Maharajah,Gora Range Forest Officer in Narmada district,had issued a notice on May 14,asking all forest workers within his range to enlist themselves under NREGS before June 15. But he was soon asked to withdraw it. Maharajah said: “We had issued a notice to get all workers registered under NREGA. But on the advice of senior officials and demands from the workers over a disparity in pay,we had to scrap the move.”

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Pradip Khanna said the circular actually meant only to say that labour-oriented work “as far as possible” should be under NREGA. “Lower ranking officers sometime misunderstand circulars,this has now been rectified,” he said. He added that the workers’ unions had started panicking while the Gujarat government was only ensuring that they can earn more,with the help of various state and Central schemes.

On being asked why workers already employed by the Forest Department were being brought under NREGA,Khanna said,family members of workers are issued NREGA cards,and on many occasions,existing workers also get included as a member of that family.

State forest officers further said the government’s move was only to “augment the work opportunities” in the forest areas. Workers were to be brought under NREGS as they were quite irregular in turning up for work and also because they could not have consistently enough work,they said.

Khanna said: “Not all of them work round the year. Depending on the available works,the labourers are called from the neighboring villages and this is how they get employment. Earlier,such work used to be undertaken by the Forest Department,but now it is NREGA which is employing them.”

Elsewhere,both PWD and Forest workers,cite pay disparities between NREGA and the state Forest Department wages as justification for opposing the move.

On his part,Khanna said the pay disparity depends on the work. “If they do not show up for work,be it under NREGA or the Forest Department,they will lose employment. Now,the Gujarat government has assigned work amounting Rs 60 crore under NREGA,” said Khanna.

NREGA promises 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work at the minimum wage rate notified for agricultural labour in the state,or else an unemployment allowance. The Act’s objective is to supplement wage employment opportunities in the rural areas,and in the process,also build up durable assets.

Now a probe panel headed by Amita Sharma,the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry for Rural Development,will investigate the NREGS issue on the orders of the Central government following a report by The Indian Express.