Attendance of MGNREGA workers in Kangra to be marked online

Tribune News Service

Lalit Mohan

Dharamsala, January 16

Attendance of MGNREGA workers in Kangra district would now be marked online. The district administration, as per the directives of the union government, has made it mandatory that the attendance of all MGNREGA works involving more than 20 workers would be marked online.

The attendance would be marked twice a day in morning and evening and photos of the labourers doing work under MGNREGA would have to be uploaded on an application of the Union Ministry of Rural Development by the panchayat pradhans.

Sources here said that the scheme making online attendance of MGNREGA workers has been implemented to check the practice of fake muster rolls that were prepared manually by some village pradhans. In many cases complaints had been coming to the administration that the village pradhans were creating fake muster rolls (attendance on papers) to please their near and dear ones by giving them fake employment under MGNREGA.

Deputy Commissioner Kangra, Nipun Jindal, when contacted, said that the scheme for marking online attendance has already been implemented in 200 out of total 800 panchayats of the district. Initially, the scheme for online attendance was limited to the works for which more than 20 labourers were being engaged. However, later it would be implemented to all works and labourers engaged in MGNREGA works. The online attendance would ensure that only the genuine MGNREGA workers get their dues.

MGNREGA scheme has come in handy for the

state government during coronavirus crisis under which more than one lakh people living in rural areas of the state were given 180 days of employment in the year 2021. A large number youth who had lost their livelihoods during lockdown periods in other states got employment under MGNREGA.

The state government had introduced innovations in the scheme that were appreciated by the union government. The Kangra district administration had included growing of herbs and exotic plant varieties under MGNREGA. In Dharamsala many women self-help groups have been encouraged to take to chamomile farming. They are being provided free saplings under MGNREGA scheme.

In Dehra area also the district administration of Kangra was encouraging farmers to take to Tulsi farming under MGNREGA.

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