Around 1,100 Gram Rojgar Sevaks, engaged at the grassroots level in implementing rural development works under the centrally sponsored MGNREGA scheme, have not received their salaries for the past four months, triggering widespread resentment among the workforce.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Shiv Raj Thakur, state president of the Gram Rojgar Sevak Association, urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene and ensure the immediate release of the pending salaries before the proposed implementation of the Centre’s new VB-G RAM G scheme, which is set to replace the existing MGNREGA programme.
Thakur recalled that the Gram Rojgar Sevaks were appointed during the previous Jai Ram Thakur-led government to prepare muster rolls and facilitate the execution of approved rural development works under MGNREGA.
He also expressed concern over the future of the Gram Rojgar Sevak workforce after the transition to the new employment scheme. He urged the state government to either continue their services under the proposed VB-G RAM G programme or, if that is not feasible, integrate them into the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department, where a large number of panchayat secretary posts have remained vacant for a long time.
Thakur said the uncertainty surrounding their future had caused considerable anxiety among the Gram Rojgar Sevaks. “We are spending sleepless nights over the fear of losing our livelihoods,” he said.
He appealed to the Chief Minister to safeguard the interests of the Gram Rojgar Sevaks by ensuring that they are not rendered jobless after the implementation of the new scheme.