Rampant delays hit Nrega wage payments, says forum

Oct 28 (IANS) Contrary to the central government's claim, wage payments for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are frozen in 19 states in the country, the Nrega Sangharsh Morcha has said.

Since August 31, no wage payments have been made in Haryana, no wage payments have been made in Karnataka and West Bengal since the first week of September, while since a month no wage payments have been made in Kerala and Jharkhand, among other states, the Morcha said.

"Wage payments of at least Rs 3,066 crore are pending due to lapses by the central and state governments and insufficiency of funds allotted for the programme; a problem that recurs year after year and is unlikely to get resolved soon," it said in a press release.

The Morcha demanded immediate allocation of additional funds by the Centre to meet the full demand for work.

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