By Joseph Maliakan
The new Bill introduced by the Union government , Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin ( VB – GRAMG ) to replace the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Emloyment Guarantee Act 2005 ( MGNREGA ) nullifies the concept of the Right to Work guaranteed by the Indian Constitution.
RAMG, in spite of the devine name paradoxically destroys the scheme for guaranteed work for a minimum of 100 days in a year for the rural unemployed poor. RAMG completely changes the character of MGNREGA.
The existing scheme to provide minimum employment to the rural poor is based on demand for employment . In other words the Union government is duty bound to provide funds for employment of the rural poor according to the demand because it is basically a centrally sponsored scheme.
Before the beginning of every financial year the states prepare labour budgets which are aproved by the Union government. Later if more people seek work under the right to work programme the the labour budgets are updated. Thus according to demand for work the budgets are increased. This is one of the key features of MGNREGA.
But under the RAMG the scheme will be converted to an allocation based programme and what is very disturbing is that the norms for allocation of funds have not been made clear yet . It is feared that the Union government will weaponise the scheme to punish unbending state governments specially ruled by the opposition parties.
Presently the wage bill for the scheme is paid by he Union government and the expenses for the implementation of the scheme is shared on the ratio of 75: 25 by the Union and the States. However, under RAMG the entire expenditure, wage bill plus administrative cost will be shared by the Union and the States on a 60: 40 basis . This will result in a huge financial burden on the states, especially the poorer states like Bihar , Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
From a bottom up scheme the RAMG has become a top down programme , according to Jayanti Gosh , Development economist. Though the new Bill envisages a minimum employment for 125 days considering that the average days under MGNREGA per year have been only 40 to 50 in future we will get much less ,she added.
” You can’t make decisions like this by sitting in Delhi. This is a stupid way to run a country as complicated and diverse as India. This is a terrible blow for fedaralism and therefore has to be opposed”, she said referring to Section 4(5) of the VB-G RAM G Bill which states : ” The Central Government shall determine the statewise normative allocation for each financial year , based on objective parameters as may be prescribed by the Central Government.”
Under RAMG the Government of India will have full powers to decide the financial allocations , the wage rates , power to decide where and when the scheme is to be implemented . Further RAMG gives the Union government unbridled powers to do what it wants without any obligations .All oblgations are of state governments and without the required funding the scheme will practically remain on paper.
For some inexplicable reason RAMG proposes a sixty day pause during the peak agriculture seasons of sawing and harvesting. In a country like India with varying climatic conditions and diffrent crops and different sawing and harvesting seasons in different parts of the country for which 60 days in a year will pause RAMG scheme ? One is reminded of the businessman on being asked why he wasted money on advertisement said , ” I know half the money I spent on advertisement is a waste, but I do not know which half !”
The Bill proposes division of work into four categories : water security, rural infrastructure , livelyhood infrastructure and disaster resilience. This division of work is inadequate to define work under the new scheme
The MGNREGA provided employment as a matter of right and this right cannot be taken away by a mere majority vote , therefore this bill is reprehensible according to Prabhat Patnaik , Professor Emiretus Jawaharlal Nehru University.
RAMG, in spite of the devine name will spell disaster for the wreched of the country.
