MNREGA Workers to observe one yr of Cong Govt in Himachal as Black Day in Village level: CITU
Mahatma Gandhi Rojgar Employment Guarantee Act workers decided to organize December 12 as a black day on the village level protesting against Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government notification to ditch them in the state from their due benefits extended to them under the Sharmik Kalyan Board.
This was stated by the Mandi CITU Secretary Bhupendra Singh talking to us here today. He said that under the umbrella body of CITU, all the MNREGA workers would join the protest on the village level in all the 12 districts in the state on December 12, 2023.
He said that the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu government ditched the MNREGA workers by issuing a notification a year ago on December 12 to snatch the benefit extended to them on the line of other workers under the Sharmik Kalyan Board.
He said that the state government should not need to worry about the financial liability incurred by the MNREGA workers as it is Central Government which allot the budget for MNREGA workers and scheme.
CITU also accused the Sukhu government for to reduced job card holders and job days from 120 to 90 as it could not ensure minimum employment for them.
CITU said that the government is not providing employment and working days to the job card holders to deprive them of the statutory provision.
Terming the Sukhu Congress party antiwork je said that Labor Welfare Board benefits have been stopped for the last year under its rule therefore all workers in their villages burn the effigies or copies of the notification of the Government which deprives them of their due benefits under the Sharmik Kalyan Board.
He applied for 4.50 lakh MNREGA workers who are registered job card holders to press the demand to restore the board’s benefit.
He said that the state government used to deliver assistance of Rs 100 Cr to 150 Cr to MNREGA workers has been withdrawn for the last year CITU said that since then this assistance has been stopped and now the situation means that in this financial year, only Rs 21 lakh assistance has been provided compared to Rs 160 crore released last year.
Trade union claimed that by withdrawal of state benefits under Sharmik Kalyan Board it deprived assistance of Rs 58 crore for children’s education, marriage and 95 crores for medical assistance for marriage, Rs 90 lakh, Rs 2.4 crore for maternity benefit, Rs 5 crore for death and cremation and Rs 20 lakh was released for pension.
Earlier to this workers have also held a rally in Shimla on 5th June and a protest rally was being organized on 25th November.
