SHILLONG, March 7: Material liabilities to the tune of a whopping Rs 342 crore is what the Meghalaya government owes to suppliers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) projects in the state, and the Opposition wants the government to clear the amount.
Raising this issue during the Question Hour of the ongoing budget session of the state Assembly, Opposition Chief Whip, George B Lyngdoh, said that the burden carried by the suppliers is huge.
“It is important to clear these pending dues since the actual work taken up under MGNREGA is dependent on the materials provided by the suppliers. This is the highest amount which I have ever heard,” Lyngdoh said.
He warned the government that all civil works will stop if the material liability is not cleared.
Lyngdoh, an All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) MLA, pointed towards the lack of livelihood in rural areas and the associated problems, and stated that parents there have stopped their children from going to school because they can no longer pay the fees.
He went on to predict that this delay in payment of material liabilities will have a negative impact on the implementation of MGNREGA in 2022 and beyond.
Responding to the Opposition, Community and Rural Development Minister, Hamletson Dohling, said that the department had sent a proposal to the Ministry of Rural Development on October, 2021, “but till date we are yet to get the sanction”.
“We are expecting to get the funds for clearing the material liabilities within the coming few days,” the minister added.