LUDHIANA: Apprehending that the cash starved Akali-BJP government in Punjab might be diverting the funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for running its day to day affairs, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari today said that it (the Akali-BJP government) has been delaying the wages to be paid under the scheme within 15 days, by months together.

In a statement issued here today, Tewari disclosed that the Union Ministry for Rural Development had taken serious view of the issue and the union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had written to the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal drawing his attention towards this lapse. “It appears that the state government is diverting the funds that it gets from the central government under MGNERGA as otherwise there is no reason as why the wages should be delayed by months together when these must be paid within 15 days”, the minister observed.

Tewari said, thePunjabgovernment had delayed over 55 percent of the wages amounting to over Rs 55 crores till the month of January beyond the stipulated time period. He stated that this was apparently because the state government was diverting the funds allocated by the centre for various public welfare schemes like MGNREGA for other purposes. He revealed that payments to the tune of over Rs 10 crore had been delayed by more than two months.

He said, Mr Jairam Ramesh in his letter to the Chief Minister Mr Badal has expressed grave concern over the delay in payment of wages under MGNREGA telling him that this was a grave violation of the basic entitlements of the workers as the MGNREGA stipulates that the wages must be paid within a period of 15 days. “Shockingly inPunjabthe wages have been delayed by over two months”, Tewari said, while quoting from the figures furnished by the Union Rural Development ministry.