G.O.(Ms) No. 83, Payment of delay compensation to MGNREGA workers, 2016

What the government order covers

The Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (CGS.1) Department's G.O.(Ms) No. 83 dated 12 July 2016 concerns compensation for delayed wage payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It permits pending compensation for April 2016 to June 2016 to be paid from Central Government funds held in the State Employment Guarantee Fund.

The document concerns rural employment wages and administrative responsibility. It does not deal with ownership, transfer, classification or registration of land.

Who is affected

G.O.(Ms) No. 83 directly affects workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme whose wages were not paid within 15 days from the closure of the Muster Roll.

The document also assigns responsibilities to officials and organisations involved in processing wages, including:

• Worksite Supervisors and Village Panchayat Secretaries.
• Union Overseers, Assistant Engineers and Junior Engineers.
• Assistant Executive Engineers and Computer Assistants.
• Deputy Block Development Officers and Block Development Officers.
• Village Panchayats, banks, post offices, cooperative banks and other institutions fixed by the Government.

Key provisions

• A worker is entitled to delay compensation when wages are not paid within 15 days from closure of the Muster Roll.
• Compensation is calculated at 0.05% of unpaid wages for each day of delay beyond the sixteenth day after closure of the Muster Roll.
• The computer system must automatically calculate compensation using the Muster Roll closure date and the date wages are deposited in the worker's account.
• The State Government must pay verified compensation upfront and recover it from the functionary or agency responsible for the delay.
• Delay details, compensation payable and compensation actually paid must be recorded in the Monitoring and Information System and Labour Budget.
• The internal process from closure of the Muster Roll through generation of the Pay Order or Fund Transfer Order is set at nine days. The objective is to allow wages to be credited within the following six days and remain within the 15 day limit.

Reason for the pending compensation

The Director of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj reported that Rs.3.53 crore was due as of 20 June 2016, while noting that the cumulative amount changed daily. The document attributes the delay to responsible officers being engaged in Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election duty during May 2016, which delayed clearance of Fund Transfer Orders.