"Everybody knows that employment for all is assured and the pay is Rs 80 a day. What no one seems to know is that the work is evaluated and you are paid for actual work done, not for being here for seven hours," C Maharajan, the panchayat president, said.
Elaborates engineer Albert Raj: "The wage for one cubic metre of mud evacuated is Rs 44.30. So for Rs 80 you have to do twice as much work."
The villagers did not seem to understand this. But according to Maharajan, the villagers understand this point very well, it's just that they pretend not to.
"Everybody feels that government work is a dole and you don't necessarily have to work," Maharajan added.
Also read: 3 crore households get jobs under NREGA
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