Finance and Health Minister T. Harish Rao has criticised the BJP-led Central Government for planning to scrap the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme, the scheme which was providing employment to scores of people across the country.
The Central Government had initiated steps to dilute the scheme as is evident from the recent circular of instructions issued by the Centre. The circular as well as the recent spate of inspections indicated that the Centre intended to scrap the scheme in the name of corrupt practices.
In a letter addressed to Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, Mr. Harish Rao launched a tirade against the Centre for its moves against progressive States like Telangana as well as 1.21 crore manpower dependent on MGNREGS. “The moves of the Centre are akin to calling a dog mad before killing it,” he said.
He questioned the intentions of the Centre in not paying wages to works in time. The Union Minister concerned admitted in Rajya Sabha that payments to the tune of ₹10,000 crore were pending under the MGNREGS. The Centre had admitted that there were dues to the tune of ₹4,700 crore in 15 States including ₹83 crore in Telangana. The Government at the same time had allocated ₹ 73,000 crore in the current year’s budget for the scheme.
“A major chunk of an estimated ₹18,380 crore are expected to be spent on payment of previous dues. How will the remaining amounts suffice in effective implementation of the scheme?” he asked. He questioned the Centre’s intentions in incorporating clauses like mandatory uploading of photos of workers twice a day at the work sites as also involving “runners up” in the panchayat elections in supervision of works.
Moreover, the Centre had proposed to ensure universal basic income of ₹72,000 a year after the economic survey in 2017-18 which mandated the steps to provide UBI to over 30 per cent families across the country. “The Centre owes an explanation to the people on how it proposed to ensure UBI to these families even while taking steps that are aimed at diluting the scheme,” he asserted.
The Minister recalled how the Centre had set aside the resolution passed in the legislature urging the Centre to link agricultural works with the MGNREGS and said the queries raised by the Centre in this regard were indicative of its intentions to scrap the scheme altogether. The Centre which was diluting the institutions working for public good would face people anger if it did not withdraw its moves to scrap the scheme, he added.
