BENGALURU: The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department had plans to vaccinate 11 lakh workers employed under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) against Covid-19. However, these plans have been put on hold for now due to a shortage of vaccines.The government, which had halted MNREGA work in view of the second wave, on Wednesday allowed work to restart, with strict guidelines in place.
A meeting will be held with the chief secretary, RDPR Minister K S Eshwarappa and finance department officials in the next two to three days.To cover more people in rural areas, the government plans to vaccinate MNREGA workers at their work site. RDPR principal secretary L K Ateeq said if vaccines were available, they will make sure every MNREGA labourer gets the jab.
Ever since the pandemic hit, there has been a demand for MNREGA work. This year too, starting from April, labourers in urban areas started returning to their villages, choosing to work under the scheme. Official sources said that before work was halted, around 10 lakh people had been working every day in most of the districts, including Belagavi, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Ballari, Yadgir, Koppal and some parts of South Karnataka. The numbers varied from 10 to 100 people per place. A senior official told TNIE that a few MNREGA workers had been vaccinated at their workplaces.
The main issue is shortage of vaccine doses. “Once there is supply, we have a mechanism in place to deliver. India has been vaccinating millions of people for decades,” a senior official said. Eshwarappa said they have no problem in vaccinating the workers at their work sites, but is apprehensive about the spread of the virus. “A large number of people assemble at MNREGA work sites, which is not advisable during the pandemic. A large number of people are testing positive in rural areas,” he said.
As per the Centre’s norms, if a state government halts MNREGA work, it has to pay 50 per cent of the wages to the labourers. “Given our current financial situation, we are in a dilemma. People’s lives are more important than employment,” Eshwarappa said.