Dehradun: Yashpal Arya, Leader of the Opposition, said that the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act has been renamed as the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Employment and Livelihood Mission (Rural). The new law (VB-G RAM G) is weakening the fundamental principle of the “right to work” under MGNREGA.
He said that not only has Mahatma Gandhi’s name been removed from MGNREGA, but several other changes are also extremely worrying. Earlier, the central government’s contribution to this scheme was 90 percent and the state government’s contribution was 10 percent. MGNREGA was a scheme for unskilled laborers, whose budget was with the central government, but now only 60 percent of the contribution will be from the center and 40 percent from the state government.
Arya said that MGNREGA was a demand-based scheme; if a laborer demanded work, the center had to provide it and pay them. In the new scheme, work will not be available based on demand. Now, work will be available only based on the center’s pre-determined standards and budget allocation. If the funds run out, the right to work ends. If more work is provided than the allocated funds, the state government will have to bear the cost.
He said that the legal guarantee scheme for employment has been changed into a centrally operated publicity scheme, where the states will bear the expenses. In MGNREGA, work was done through Gram Sabhas and Panchayats, which planned the work based on local needs. This further strengthened the Panchayats, the first link in democracy.
Arya said that in the new scheme, GIS tools, PM Gati Shakti, and the center’s digital network are mandatory. Local priorities will now be filtered through the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack. Biometrics, geo-tagging, dashboards, and audits are mandatory. Clearly, millions of rural laborers who do not understand this technology will be deprived of work. He said that along with this, the central government will decide how much budget each state will receive. There will be standards, but we know that in this case, what the opposition governments will receive and on what basis will be decided.
The Leader of the Opposition said that laborers will not get work for two months during the farming season. This employment guarantee act will not guarantee employment for two months. This means the laborer has been left to their fate. Now, whether someone makes them work for a little grain or exploits them in some other way, the government doesn’t care. Changing the name of a scheme is not just a change on paper – it costs crores of rupees from the government treasury, the burden of which falls directly on the public.
He said that the real question is whether changing the name will change the life of the village laborer? Will it reduce unemployment or inflation? This change is a direct attack on the very essence of the MNREGA employment guarantee. Reducing funds, eliminating demand-based work, and shifting the burden onto the states, all of this together makes the laborer insecure.
Arya said that not a single step is being taken towards eradicating poverty in the country; everything is being done to eliminate the poor. By centralizing wealth and showing the dream of a developed India to 90 percent of the people based on the income of only 10 percent, the people are being fooled. When the people of the country are hoping for employment and relief, the government should abandon the politics of symbolism and work on the ground reality.
Yashpal Arya said that the Congress party will strongly oppose such a provision. We will not allow the rights of crores of poor people, laborers, and workers to be snatched away by those in power.
