MGNREGS come to tribals’ aid in Nandurbar, district reports highest-ever employment under scheme

According to District Collector Dr Rajendra Bharud, 41,157 labourers are employed in various works undertaken by district collectorate.

The remote and tribal-dominated district of Nandurbar has reported the highest-ever employment in works initiated under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

According to District Collector Dr Rajendra Bharud, 41,157 labourers are employed in various works undertaken by district collectorate. Sharing its borders with Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, Nandurbar is a predominantly tribal district. Tribals from the district are known to migrate for work at fields and industries, mostly in Gujarat. They form the largest chunk of workers at the sugar mills of Gujarat as well as at construction sites in the state. During the monsoon, they return to their home state to tend to their fields.

Bharud said while foodgrains were made available to tribals under various government schemes, employment was a real issue in this backward district. He added that Nandurbar had 19 Covid cases, mostly in taluka and town areas, whereas rural and remote parts of the district were relatively free from the virus transmission. “The revival of MGNREGS was a logical step to provide employment to the rural youth and help them earn,” he said, adding that the payment of Rs 238 per day under the scheme was higher than the rate of Rs 200 per day offered for other works in the district.

Labourers across the country have taken to the streets to return home during a nationwide lockdown imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. K C Padvi, Nandurbar’s Guardian Minister and the state’s Tribal Development Minister, has written to the Gujarat chief minister, alleging that tribals from Maharashtra have been mistreated and has asked for his personal attention to their issues. More than one lakh workers had returned to Nandurbar during the initial days of the lockdown, alleging that their employers had mistreated them.

At present, works are being undertaken mostly by agriculture, social forestry and forest departments. Asked about implementation of distancing norms, Bharud said each work area had been divided into squares and members of the same family were being put in one square.

“Due to the remote nature of the villages, residents are already almost in self-isolation and, thus, by clubbing them in one square during work minimises their interaction with others,” he said, adding that masks, sanitisers and soaps were also being provided.

Bharud further said this crisis had revived interest in MGNREGS. He said he was confident that the number of workers employed will rise to 70,000 by June. “We aim to ensure payment of Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore to workers this year,” he said.