On the occasion of May Day, the State's rural poor, particularly the seasonal agricultural labourers, have much to complain about the flagship employment scheme which gives the citizens the right to demand for work. The much touted National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which came into effect from February 2006 with an outlay of Rs 16,419 crore for the initial year has come a cropper in the State with all the provisions of the Act being openly flouted. The Grameen Shramik Sangathan, which has been organising workers in rural areas to demand their rightful dues, has alleged that the employment scheme has become a tool for the ruling class to further their own political interests. The general secretary of the organisation, Arup Mahanta, said that apart from the delay in issue of job cards, the authorities concerned were issuing very limited number of job cards with the promise to the poor that all would get job cards when the present Government came to power again. "Since, the rural representatives belong to the ruling class, the employment scheme has become a sort of election campaign,' said Mahanta. As per the provisions of the Act, work should be allocated within 15 days from the date of application. But what is most disturbing is that the official application forms are still to reach the people. "The rural representatives are taking the signatures of the people on blank papers and even taking bribes for providing a job card,' said Mahanta, adding that the Grameen Shramik Sangathan during its course of activities amongst the rural poor in the State has been witness to gross violation of the Act. In fact, the anomalies and rampant corruption in allocation of job cards and the violation of the provisions of the Act had forced the rural poor to stage agitation in 13 blocks last month. "In Barpeta, the work is given to contractors against the clear-cut provisions of the Act,' alleged Mahanta. Though the Act mentions that payment of unemployment allowance is to be made if work is not provided within 15 days of application, this provision has never bothered the authorities who have failed to provide timely employment. "The Act has seen minimum implementation and maximum violation in Assam,' said Mahanta. Calling upon the Government to effectively implement the Act, Mahanta said that any further delay in providing employment would mean that the rural poor would remain deprived of their rights as the rainy season was about to begin.