‘Delay in payment, extra working hours’: App-based attendance adds to the woes of MGNREGA workers

The mandatory monitoring of attendance of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act from May this year through the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app has only created hurdles for the programme’s workers, instead of solving problems.

Four months after the app was made mandatory, MGNREGA workers from across the country came together at Jantar Mantar on August 3 to protest problems related to the application and irregular payment of wages among other issues.

At worksites that have more than 20 workers, the app requires geotagged and timestamped photographs to register attendance. Poor internet connectivity, little access to smartphones and glitches in the app have thrown a wrench in the daily activities of the workers.