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Going by the available statistics, it seems to be that there are no takers for the ambitious Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in seven gram panchayats of Dakshina Kannada district, wherein below 10 households have been offered employment as on March 1.

Though 139 job cards have been issued in Padumarnadu gram panchayat, only two housesholds with six members have been given employment under the scheme. In Kilpady gram panchayat, five households with 12 members have been provided with employment. The total number of job card holders is 31.

In Naringana gram panchayat, only two households with seven persons have been given employment. The number of job card holders in the GP is 469. In Kalmanja gram panchayat, employment has been given to six households with 30 members. The total number of job card holders is 125.

As many as eight households with 19 persons have been given employment under the scheme in Nekkiladi gram panchayat of Puttur taluk. There are 148 registered job card holders in the gram panchayat.

Five households with 11 members have been guaranteed employment in Kombaru gram panchayat of Puttur taluk. The total number of job card holders in the GP is 384.

About eight households with 19 persons have been provided employment under the scheme in Balila GP of Sullia Taluk. The total number of job card holders is 211.
There are 26 gram panchayats in the district wherein employment has been provided to about 20 households. This includes four Gram Panchayats each in Mangalore taluk, Bantwal and Belthangady taluks, seven GPs each in Puttur and Sullia taluks.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, a few Panchayat Development Officers said that many do not come forward to take up employment under MGNREGA. “Even after pursuading them, they are not ready to work under MGNREGA as they feel that the wages are less when compared to the work in construction site, or cashew/tile factories.”
Job cards in DK

About 70,835 job cards have been issued in the district so far. However, employment has been provided to 12,702 households with 31,097 persons. The total progress under MGNREGA is only 16.74 per cent.

About 348 individuals have completed 100 days of work during the year. This includes—Puttur—5, Bantwal—159, Belthangady—57, Mangalore—105 and Sullia—22. Work worth Rs 983.6 lakh has been taken up in the district as on March 1.

Nidle gram panchayat has taken up work worth Rs 48.79 lakh during the year. Employment has been provided to 444 households with 16,686 mandays of work. Five persons have completed 100 days of work in the GP. Work worth Rs 44.26 lakh has been implemented in Kolnadu gram panchayat. Employment has been provided to 319 households with 1025 persons.

DK MGNREGA Ombudsman Sheena Shetty said that the gram panchayats which have provided employment to less than 10 households have failed to implement their action plan itself.

“In many gram panchayats, the annual development plan is not prepared as per the guidelines. Plans are prepared based on the labour budget given by the Taluk Panchayat EO and not on the basis of the demand for the work. It slowly becoming a scheme based programme, which is a dangerous trend,” he said.

Complaint

MGNREGA Ombudsman has received a complaint on failure to make payment for the work on well taken up in Kaukradi GP. About 11 labourers have complained to the Ombudsman in this regard. They had taken up the work from February 4 to 14 and the labourers should have been received the wages by February 20.