Activists of five farmers unions and rural workers staged a dharna in front of the deputy commissioner's office here today. They were demanding redressing of their complaints and starting projects for the rural poor under the NREGA in the district. President of the Rural Workers Association Sant Ram, convener of the Balichowki unit of CITU Kesar Singh, general secretary of the Himachal Kisan Sabha Chiranjiv Lal and Naryan Singh of the Ward Panch Union, Balichowki, said all complaints addressed to the administration had fallen on deaf ears and the implementation of the NREGA schemes had remained confined to papers only. They submitted an 11-point memorandum to Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal. They have demanded that the banks should run mobile counters to pay their wages as remote areas in the district had no banks nearby. Their other demands include that the workers should get work and payment of wages within 15 days, the provision of "paid holidays' should be restored and first-aid boxes should be arranged at the project sites, they added. The activists alleged the panchayats pradhans were showing no interest in the proper implementation of the NREGA. They were not maintaining registers for complaints. Fake entries were made in the records to corner funds, they alleged. RTI activist Lawan Thakur said, "Over 100 complaints have been received under the NREGA from different panchayats in the district, but no action has been initiated against the offending officials and pardhans so far.' Mandi DC Onkar Sharma said, "We hold meetings of the BDOs of each block every month and review schemes' implementation. We are making a plan to provide rural banking facility to workers.' Sharma said Rs 67 crore had been received under the NREGA for the district this year. "The funds are no problem, but we have to go by the set NREGA procedure. The grievances are redressed as and when these are brought to our notice,' he claimed.