Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Feb 15: J&K unit president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Darshan Rana has expressed grave concern over the continued and unjustified silence of the government on the long-pending MGNREGA payments pertaining to the year 2016–17.
In a press statement Rana said that despite the passage of nearly a decade, thousands of poor labourers and local stakeholders remain deprived of their rightful dues. He highlighted that during the ongoing Assembly session, not a single Member of the Legislative Assembly raised a question regarding these pending payments. This silence, he said, is deeply disturbing, as the issue directly impacts rural labourers who worked under the scheme with the assurance of timely wages and payments for material supplied for public works.
Recalling earlier assurances, BSP leader stated that during previous Assembly session, the RDD Minister had categorically assured the House that all pending MGNREGA payments of 2016–17 would be released at the earliest. However, in the current session, the Government has failed to provide any clarification, timeline, or official status update. This prolonged uncertainty has intensified the suffering of labourers as well as suppliers and contractors involved in material components of the works, he added.
Rana emphasized that the pending dues include both labour and material components should be released without any more delay. While daily-wage labourers await their wages for work already completed, payments related to material procurement—such as construction inputs used for rural infrastructure—also remain unpaid. This has not only pushed labourers into financial distress but has also affected local economies and small suppliers who extended credit to government works in good faith.
“The labourers and material suppliers fulfilled their obligations years ago. The government’s failure to release payments is not merely administrative negligence; it is a serious moral and institutional failure. All 90 elected Members, who sought votes in the name of employment, dignity of labour, and public welfare, have collectively failed to uphold their responsibility,” Rana asserted.
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