Easily the world's largest welfare scheme for the poor, the MGNREGA 

was steeped in Gandhian Ideology should be continued in spirit and 

with wholeheartedness

Anita Saluja I new delhi

Mahatma Gandhi, the name will always be associated with India. Revered and invincible, such is his iconic status that all the foreign dignitaries first visit Rajghat, the Samadhi of the Mahatma, before embarking on their diplomatic itinerary in the country. Sadly, the name that has become synonymous with Peace has become the bone of contention between the Ruling Party and the Opposition.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been given a new name of  Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgaar and Aajeevika Mission Gramin (VB G RAM G) Act. Nearly 78-years after Gandhi's assassination, Gandhian legacy now seems to be on the radar.The scheme started in his name has been replaced by the Modi Government, much to the ire of the Congress. While the latter accuses the BJP of disregarding his name and removing it from the most successful scheme meant for the poor, the ruling dispensation is refuting the charge by blaming the Congress for showing disdain to Lord Ram. The fight between the Congress and the BJP has turned into a tug of war in the name of Mahatma versus Ram.

In fact, the Congress argues that it is not just the name but the entire scheme, meant for the poor, is intended to be scrapped in the long run as it is not tenable and would die a slow death on its own. There was in fact, no need to replace the nomenclature of the Old Act even if the intention of the BJP-led NDA Government was to completely scrap it. By changing the name, the Modi Government has exposed its intention of disassociating with any policy relating to Mahatma Gandhi. Inadvertently, somewhere the Government is accepting that the Father of the Nation belongs more to the Congress than the BJP, which though being true has been always refuted by them.

Going beyond the nomenclature, the new Act, VB G RAM G , seems to be unsustainable as  the Modi Government has passed the burden to run the scheme on to the States from the shoulders of the Centre. The new formula of 60:40 funding, 60 per cent of the Centre and 40 per cent of the States is the key. Most States finances are in dire straits. Each State is steeped in debt to the extent of Rs 5 lakh crore to Rs 7 lakh crore. Such States can hardly afford to run a scheme like rural employment by contributing 40 per cent of its share, in what was once a wholly Centrally-funded scheme.

For example, Rajasthan outlay for MGNREGA is Rs 10,000 crore. If Centre gives only Rs 6,000 crore, then Rajasthan has to add up an additional Rs 4,000 crore to keep the scheme operational. Similarly, the burden on Kerala is to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore. Once funding is split between the Centre and the States under VB G RAM G Act, no State will be in a position to run it.

What is more, unless the ruling party in the State is fully committed to it, it will not, in the normal course, like to run the scheme, preferring to divert such a sizable amount to something more pressing, like payment of pensions, or debt-servicing. Besides, when the BJP Central leadership is not in favour of such a scheme, no BJP-ruled State would like to run it, virtually leading the scheme into a dead-end.

Easily the world's largest welfare scheme for the poor, the MGNREGA was steeped in Gandhian Ideology. It aimed to reach out to the last man in the queue, Antyodaya.  It had, at its heart, Sarvodaya, or Welfare of All. It implemented Gandhiji's concept of Gram Swaraj, where the people of the village took up works based on felt needs and it was implemented by the people of the village. It resulted in decentralisation of planning. It not only provided employment locally, but created assets in the village like village school building, Anganwadi Centre building, roads and tanks.

Origin of MGNREGA is linked to the erstwhile Undivided Andhra Pradesh. During the election campaign in March, 2004, the then Congress President Sonia Gandhi reached Bandlapalli village in Singanamala Assembly constituency in Anantapur district, to address a public meeting. While the meeting was well-attended, Sonia Gandhi found to shock that most village households were locked, with the village wearing a deserted look. 

On inquiry, she learnt that most families migrated to Bengaluru and other cities and towns in the neighbouring Karnataka, in search of employment.

This incident provided a greater impulse to Sonia Gandhi to forge ahead with the rural jobs scheme earlier discussed in the Congress Chief Ministers Conference, first in Guwahati and then in Srinagar. After the Congress-led UPA Government came to power in May, 2004, as National Advisory Council (NAC) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi finalized the scheme that was passed in Parliament on August 23, 2005. On February 2, 2006, NREGA was launched at Bandlapalli village in Anantapur district. Given its Gandhian character, NREGA was renamed MGNREGA on October 2, 2009.

Marking 10th Anniversary of MGNREGA in 2016, Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh visited Bandlapalli village. As a special gesture, Rahul Gandhi joined the workers to have food with them.

MGNREGA helped give additional income to the rural poor. Livelihoods were created during the lean season during agricultural operations, when the landless poor do not have any income. This scheme provided job security to the rural poor during this lean period. It helped stop migration from the rural to urban areas.

During Covid Pandemic, Budget allocation for MGNREGA was Rs 1, 11, 500 crore. It provided employment to 11 crore workers. Higher the allocation, higher the jobs creation and greater the building of assets in the villages.

Against this macro scenario, what was expected of the Modi Government was to push up budgetary allocations for MGNREGA. But, actually, what happened was the reverse. From Rs 1,11,500 crore, the following year, Budget allocation was brought down to Rs 98,000 crore and in the next year, it was further brought down to Rs 69,000  crore.

After witnessing the high efficacy of MGNREGA during the Covid period, the logical expectation was that allocations would be ramped up steadily. Instead, what happened was the reverse, of reducing Budgetary allocations. Scrapping of MGNREGA is bound to have negative fallout in the rural areas. MGNREGA had definitive objectives like Guarantee, Livelihood and Security. It gave Statutory Status to the Right To Job. Poor people could demand employment. The new Bill, VB G RAM G Act strikes at the root of Guaranteed Jobs. Livelihoods of the rural poor will be crippled.Security was created because they stayed in their own villages, got jobs locally, migrations stopped, besides they got additional incomes. This security architecture now stands demolished. What follows is that most rural households may go hungry, unable to arrange two square meals a day, with the loss of additional incomes. As a direct fallout, the poor may restart migrations from the rural to the urban areas in search of jobs. Such conditions could contribute to rural unrest, which was averted by MGNREGA.

With politics having taken the upper hand, where the Congress is holding dharnas across the country demanding repeal of the New Act, reviving the Old Act, the BJP, at least for the sake of Lord Ram, should continue with the scheme that has benefited the poor since 2006. Irrespective of the name, MG or RAM, the scheme should continue.

(Writer is Delhi-based senior journalist, political commentator and analyst. 

Views are personal.)