"I have no interest in job schemes initiated by the government because of delay in payment of wages. Illegal coal traders pay in cash immediately after we dump coal in their depot," said Rooplal, a labourer engaged in carrying coal for smugglers.
Aghnu, a labourer in Mandu block, said he earned more than Rs 400 a day by carrying coal on his bicycle for illegal coal traders, while job schemes paid only Rs 100 a day. "Sometimes our bicycles are damaged by the Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) security guards and police, but we immediately purchase another one to continue our job," he said. Hundreds of labourers in the district, which has some of the largest coalfields in Jharkhand, are engaged in carrying illegal coal for smugglers despite being issued job cards by the district administration.
State MGNREGA commissioner Ajay Kumar Singh, on an official visit to Ramgarh to review the job schemes, expressed surprise and dismay at the situation. "The department would investigate why the performance of job schemes in Ramgarh is not poor but a flop," said Singh.
Former Union minister Yashwant Sinha has also expressed his displeasure over the poor performance of the MGNREGA in Ramgarh.
The Hazaribag MP was surprised that only 1,550 job card holders were provided with jobs in the previous fiscal year, while as many as 87,119 labourers were registered as poor labourers in the district.
According to records, a total of 87,119 labourers were provided job cards in the district in the current fiscal year, while 30,279 labourers were provided jobs under MGNREGA schemes.
About 20,000 job card holders have no accounts in either a bank or a post office. As many as 30,000 schemes were not started in the district at all.