Without proper wages, MGNREGS workers in Gaja-hit districts turn to samba harvest

While the workers have been planting the saplings to compensate the loss of trees in these districts, they charge that the government is paying them less than Rs 120 instead of the actual wage of Rs 224.

After the farmers and their various unions stressed the need to provide additional employment under MGNREGS in notified cyclone-affected areas, the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare recommended to extend the employment by an additional 50 days to help the workers cope up with the heavy loss and meet their daily needs.

Meanwhile, the government has estimated at least 66 lakh coconut trees and 50 lakh horticulture trees like mango, jackfruit, cashew, lemon, coffee etc, across rural areas have fallen due to the cyclone. Hence, high priority would be given for plantation of coconut trees and other horticulture crops apart from the Natural Resources Management (NRM) and agriculture allied work.

The Rural Development Department had taken prior survey of job card holders undertaken in every gram panchayat in order to prepare a base line to assess the quantum and timing of demand for employment with a door-to-door survey to identify eligible people for the scheme. The District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) undertook the survey and ensured to engage workers in construction of buildings for anganwadis and village panchayat offices, grain godown, desiltation of PWD supply channels and field channels, formation of new roads, farm ponds and planting of trees.

Accordingly, the Municipal Administration and Rural Development Minister SP Velumani in his statement said that there are as many as 6980 villages from the districts like Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Tirvaurur and Pudukkottai are badly affected and around 2.28 lakh workers under MGNREGS would bring back the lost green cover in the affected area.

Currently, the samba harvest is in full swing in almost all the districts and more than 90 per cent of the workers have opted for agricultural works as they get paid between Rs 400 and 450. But under the MGNREGS, the workers get only Rs 120 or Rs 130.

“While the officials announced that the workers will be paid Rs 224 and later distributed only Rs 120 or Rs 130, many of them have shifted to samba harvest works for now,” said K Pakkirisamy of Agricultural Labourers’ Welfare association.

Pakkirisamy claimed that only 20 per cent of the MGNREGS workers were involved in planting of the saplings and watering them in the areas like Bhuthalur, Ammapettai and Sengipatti as the harvest was in full swing in the areas like Papanasam, Kumbakonam and Tirukattupalli in Thanjavur district. “Among them, over 90 per cent are women,” he added.

Though MGNREGS ensures employment to the people during drought, Sami Natarajan, TN Farmers’ Association State Secretary claimed that the funds have been diverted to many other projects. “Earlier, 90 per cent of the funds was utilised for wages and only 10 per cent for administrative expenses. Later, it was reduced to 60 per cent and the remaining 40 per cent was used for buying materials as well as administrative purposes. Furthermore, the funds have been diverted to the construction of culverts and even for free toilets,” Natarajan said further.

A group of youngsters has revived a 25-year-old peepal tree that was uprooted in the Gaja cyclone. According to Kalaimani, an environmentalist, the peepal tree was located in the Panchayat Middle School in Thanjavur. “After students and teachers were worried about the tree, we initiated steps to revive the tree. We used the traditional method and covered the tree with clothes and the cow dung. After 50 days of hard work, the tree which was almost dead surprised us. Now, the branches have started to grow,” Kalaimani said.

Kalaimani has planted 320 saplings at Nachiyar koil in Thanjavur, 310 in Kumbakonam and 1400 around Kumbakonam after Gaja cyclone. “They all have started to grow well,” said Kalaimani.