App to Monitor MGNREGS Workers' Attendance Set to be Tweaked as Mandatory Use Sparks Protests

Tweaks in the use of National Mobile Monitoring System — the app for capturing attendance for those claiming work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme — and the monitoring mechanism for the same are likely with the Ministry of Rural Development “reviewing” the new system after issues with the mandatory use of the app sparked nationwide protests by workers. According to officials, the ministry is looking at “tweaking some of the features” of the app to make it more user-friendly and evolve a mechanism to ensure that workers don’t miss out on their wages or a day’s work due to any issues emerging out of the use of the app. Issues ranging from poor connectivity in uploading geo-tagged photos to get marked present for a day’s work on the app and consequent delay in payment of wages or being denied it as well as not having Aadhaar-linked bank accounts have irked workers who sat on a 60-day-long protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in April this year. While protesting workers have now gone back to their respective states, they are holding protests there itself to put pressure on the state governments against the mandatory use of the app.