Bharat Dogra finds that the scheme meant to benefit rural poor is not meeting its avowed purpose
with wage cuts and delays, and the authorities showing callous neglect.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA), earlier known as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) stands disrupted in its present form. The Act aimed aims to provide at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to at least one member of every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
NREGA has seen frequent disruptions due to budget cuts and the arbitrary introduction of attendance and payments systems (NNMS and ABPS). Pro-worker and weaker section outfits in the country including NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, have staged a dharna (protest sit-in) at Jantar Mantar, Delhi since February 2023. Workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh have congregated here to narrate the injustices.
On April 13 last, the dharna completed 50 days. Initially, assurances were given by the officials concerned but protesters believe there is no further action. Despite presenting documented evidence of their problems, the authorities have maintained a ‘stony silence’.
Political leaders are known to urge the youth in nation building. Here young activists, including some highly educated, have been toiling for weeks to help the weaker sections. They have been collecting data and evidence to seek attention to the problems of the poor.
There are instances of faulty implementation. Sulochana Devi from Kangra district (Himachal Pradesh) recently worked for seven days at a NREGA work site, but due to faulty NNMS attendance, her work was recorded for only two days. Instead of being paid at the rate of Rs 212 she was paid Rs 80. Dharamsai from Sarguja (Chattisgarh) has not been paid for four weeks of work due to Aadhar card not being linked to job card. Mannu Ram of same district toiled for 10 days in March at a NREGA site, but due to faulty NNMS app was listed for payment for only two days and received payment for only a day.
Lalitaben Badla of Panchmahal district has testified about eight women of her village whose wage payments got misdirected under ABPS (Aadhaar-Based Payment System) and who went around for months to get them. Finally, they got only part amount of what they had lost. There have even been cases of workers losing previous savings due to the new system of wage payment.
Rejection, misdirection and diversion are the three major problems encountered by the ABPS payment system, made mandatory since January despite evidence that equally effective and speedy payments are possible by ordinary bank accounts transfer system which was the norm earlier. The issue is compounded by budget inadequacy, delays in wage payments. A review of 1.8 million transactions revealed that there were delays beyond the stipulated 15 days in 44% cases.
Protesters want that ABPS isn’t mandatory and resumption of bank account payments, stop NNMS app attendance system, ensure adequate budgeting and expeditious payment of arrears.
The workers’ struggle exemplifies the injustice done to the working class. Eminent economist Jean Dreze has shown that rural real wages have stagnated and may even have suffered some decline.
Interactions with construction and domestic workers in Delhi earlier this year revealed that after considering the impact of inflationary trends and higher days of unemployment, their overall earnings have declined in recent times. A review of actual expenditure data for those government departments which deal with weaker sections revealed that for many schemes the actual spending has lagged far behind original budget allocations. Hence the NREGA struggle should also be seen as a part of the wider ongoing struggle for justice of the working class and the weaker sections of society.