New Delhi: In a bid to eliminate delays and corruption in the payment of wages to workers under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the direct release of wages from the Centre to the workers.

Workers will be assured of timely payment as the new system does not entail payments being transferred from the central pool to the state budget, then to the state rural development departments, and onward to village councils or panchayats.

The money from the Union government will be routed through the state employment guarantee fund window to the workers accounts, but “this is just a routing window and delays do not happen here", a person familiar with the development said.

Launched in 2005, the rural employment programme has been a key source of livelihood for millions of rural households. The programme guarantees up to 100 days of unskilled work in a year to every rural household and was credited with raising household incomes in the countryside. But it has also been plagued by shortcomings like the diversion of money and delays in the release of workers’ wages.

With the new system in place, the Union government would stand to gain by dispensing exactly the amount of money into the state employment guarantee fund window that was spent by the village councils as soon as they furnish proof of the number of workers enrolled and the work undertaken by them.

“There will be greater transparency in the movement of funds and lower levels of corruption," the person cited above said.

According to Nikhil Dey, an activist belonging to Rajasthan-based not-for-profit organization Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, “the new system is desirable, but we need to see how the formulation actually works. It is potentially quite a significant move as it outlines a different system" for transfer of payments.

The cabinet decision follows the realization that despite various efforts to eliminate wage payment delays, the lag in release of money to workers has been increasing due to “delays on the part of the central government, the muti-level release system, the continued parking of funds at various levels and the inability of implementation agencies to get funds in time for payment", the person cited above said.

In another decision, the cabinet also approved the environment ministry’s proposal to sign an agreement with Unesco for establishment of “A centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and Pacific Region" at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun (Uttarakhand).

The so-called category 2 centre will provide capacity-building support to countries of the region for upkeep of heritage sites including natural heritage sites and mixed (cultural and natural) heritage sites inscribed under the World Heritage Convention.

Further, the cabinet also approved government departments and public sector undertakings to make their own shipping arrangements for ocean transportation of cargoes without having to route their requirements through the ministry of shipping. This is expected to help them efficiently manage their logistics operations in a dynamic global shipping market.

Mayank Aggarwal contributed to this story.

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