Ahmedabad: Congress national spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil on Monday alleged that wages running into crores of rupees have gone unpaid to workers employed under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB-G RAM G) scheme in Gujarat since June 20, leaving daily wage workers struggling to meet household expenses.
Citing official correspondence from Bhavnagar District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Gohil said workers in the district were owed Rs 2.7 crore, while another Rs 1.4 crore was pending for supervisors who oversee work under the scheme, formerly known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA). Speaking to reporters at the GPCC headquarters, Gohil said the Act stipulates that wages must be credited directly to workers’ bank accounts within 15 days of completion of work.
Gohil said the unpaid wages had remained outstanding for almost four months, even as Navratri and Dussehra passed, depriving workers of money they had earned through hard labour. The district agency’s own correspondence highlights the pending payments and the distress among workers,” Gohil said, referring to the Bhavnagar DRDA letter. However, he alleged, Gujarat govt had failed to ensure timely payments despite the statutory provision. “This is not merely a political allegation. Congress demanded that govt immediately clear all pending wages across Gujarat and fix responsibility for the delays.