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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | ‘Modi government is diluting MGNREGA’

‘Modi government is diluting MGNREGA’

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published Published on Oct 9, 2014   modified Modified on Oct 9, 2014
-MillenniumPost.in

Social activist Aruna Roy has alleged that the Narendra Modi-led NDA government is cutting funds for flagship rural scheme MGNREGA on the sly. The people-friendly rural employment scheme was conceptualised by the National Advisory Council, a quasi-government body under the UPA government, where Roy as a member had played a steering role.

The former NAC member levelled strong allegations against rural development minister Nitin Gadkari for diluting MGNREGA by changing the labour material ratio from existing 60:40 to 51:49, rationing of funds, despite it being a demand driven law and reducing the coverage of the scheme to only one-third of the total blocks in the country.

Roy, who heads Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), said: ‘The NDA government that came to power with the pledge to bring ache din has started cutting rural jobs. The scheme which was labour-driven has been converted into material driven, which will bring back contract raj system.'

Roy, while citing startling revelations fetched through an RTI reply, alleged that on Gadkari's direction the labour-material ratio was changed overruling the concerns of his ministry officials that altering the material labour ratio from 60:40 to 51:49 will result in total employment coming down to 136 crore persons day, a sharp fall of 40 per cent in employment generated, which will adversely hit five crore households.

In the RTI reply, senior officials have admitted that material-intensive works demand a higher order of organisational skills brought only by the contractors and the past experiences show that whenever highly material intensive structures have been taken up, it brought ‘benami' (fronting for somebody else) contractors, which in turn resulted in corruption.

The document says the ministry has estimated that to implement the change in labour-material ratio ‘the central government will have to first provide additional resources for wages which may amount to Rs 20,000 crore. It is therefore clear that no change in the ratio should take place till the finance ministry allocates an additional Rs. 20,000 crore.'

Commenting on the Centre's move to fix fund allocations for the financial year economist Prabhat Patnaik said it reveals how the demand driven nature of the act has been changed to an allocation-based one by the Modi government. Patnaik added that ‘this is one of the country's most important programmes that has not only enabled the rural workers to overcome conditions of acute distress but has also helped protect rural India from the disastrous effects of the last global economic collapse. However, the budgetary allocation on this programme has been steadily falling, and this year's allocation is significantly less than last year's allocation in real terms.'

On the issue of restricting the applicability of MGNREGA to one-third blocks, Roy said, ‘With so many people depending on the MGNREGA, the announcement of Gadkari that the MGNREGA would be restricted to tribal/backward districts of has come as a death warrant for the Act. The RTI application reveals that ministry is examining this issue ‘as instructed by PMO...'

Additional Solicitor General Indira Jaising alleged that the changes in the act were totally illegal as MGNREGA is an act passed by parliament and it cannot be amended through an executive order.

A letter to the prime minister endorsed by more than 200 public figures was sent on Wednesday which states that these proposed amendments to the MGNREGA will be resolutely opposed by the people. Through the letter they have demanded immediate revocation of all moves made to dilute the act.


MillenniumPost.in, 9 October, 2014, http://www.millenniumpost.in/NewsContent.aspx?NID=71732


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