Hyderabad: Telangana Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a resolution, demanding continuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as it is and terming the recently passed Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB G RAM G) detrimental to the rights of the poor.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy tabled the resolution, which was passed unanimously by a voice vote.
According to the resolution, the new law is against the rights of the poor, against women labourers and violates the spirit of federalism.
The resolution noted that MGNREGS was implemented in 2005 by the UPA government led by Dr Manmohan Singh to provide employment to the rural poor and offer financial security to impoverished families. This Act, aimed at reducing poverty, unemployment, migration, exploitation of unskilled labourers, and wage disparities between men and women, and promoting the development of all sections of society, came into effect on February 2, 2006.
The main objective of this Act is to guarantee at least 100 days of employment per year to every rural household and provide a minimum wage.
The Chief Minister stated that over the past 20 years, approximately 90 per cent of the beneficiaries of this scheme in the State have been from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Backward Classes. Of these, 62 per cent were women. Dalits, tribals, persons with disabilities, and members of the most backward tribes, such as Adivasis and Chenchus, and other poor communities have benefited the most.
The Chief Minister said that the new law jeopardises the employment guarantee for rural women and vulnerable sections of society who primarily depend on this scheme. The provisions that undermine the spirit of the old employment guarantee scheme will become a curse for the poor.
The resolution states that the new law is against the rights of the poor as it undermines the original purpose of the Employment Guarantee Act. It has put an end to the system of preparing work plans according to demand.
According to the resolution, the new law is against women labourers. In the currently implemented MGNREGA, approximately 62 per cent of the beneficiaries are women. The limited allocation system incorporated in the new law will reduce the number of workdays.
Currently, the Central government fully funds the employment guarantee scheme. Changing the central-state funding ratio to 60:40 through the new law violates the spirit of federalism. This imposes an additional financial burden on the states. The old funding ratio model should be restored, demands the resolution.
It also stated that removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name from this scheme dilutes the spirit of Gandhi.
The mandatory 60-day break during the agricultural season is unjust to landless, poor labourers. The employment guarantee scheme should be continued throughout the year, it added.
The resolution states that currently, there is a provision for undertaking 266 types of work under the employment guarantee scheme. The removal of labour-intensive works such as land development in the new law will harm small and marginal farmers, Dalits, and tribals.
(IANS)
