Hyderabad: Telangana’s Minister for Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, Seethakka, has accused the Central Government of significantly cutting funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), leading to substantial losses for states.
She highlighted that the financial burden of salaries for field assistants, who are crucial to the scheme’s implementation, is now falling entirely on state governments.
Speaking at a meeting with field assistants at the Secretariat on Wednesday, July 30, minister Seethakka addressed their concerns and outlined several key initiatives.
“The 7,111 Field Assistants in the state will be brought under a single category to ensure equal salaries,” she announced. She also confirmed that transfers for Field Assistants would now be permitted.
In a move to improve their welfare, the minister pledged to provide Group and Health Insurance, as well as Health Cards, to field assistants. Furthermore, she stated that the ex-gratia payment for them would be increased fivefold, from 2,000 to 10,000 dollars.
Minister Seethakka also directed officials to conduct a comprehensive study and prepare a report on several other important issues.
These include providing mobile phones to field assistants for recording the attendance of MGNREGS labourers, converting their positions to fixed-tenure employment, and further increasing their salaries.
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