What is the MGNREGA scheme? When was it started and what were its objectives?

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill was introduced in the Parliament in 2004 and became a law a year later. In 2009, the name of the Act was amended to include Mahatma Gandhi’s name as a prefix. Despite several ongoing rural employment schemes by the Centre at that time, the actual employment in rural areas under these schemes were less than 20 days in a year for a household. The UPA government, as per a common minimum programme, enacted the MGNREGA with a guarantee to provide minimum 100 days of employment as a right to the rural poor.

Were there any problems with the implementation of the scheme?

Yes. There were allegations from different states on role of contractors and use of machines in public works, while generating false billing in name of job card holders. Likewise, many issues continue to plague the scheme, despite several changes being made to the law and its rules from time to time to plug the deficiencies, so that, the workers receive the payment directly in their account and permanent infrastructure created in rural areas for their own benefits.

What the NDA government intends to do with the scheme?

The MNREGA, on its whole, will be repealed once the new Bill is enacted into law. States will have the liberty to name the scheme. The law intends to provide 125 days of work to each household in rural areas within a specific expenditure limit as decided by the Centre, as per the new law — VB - G RAM G. The Centre also now wants to change the nature of law from a demand-driven allotment of work to “as per funds available.” More importantly, the fund sharing pattern with States will be change to 60:40 ration from practically 90:10 under the MGNREGA.

Why is the Centre changing the specifications of the scheme?

According to the Union Government, the proposed law will establish a rural development framework aligned with the national vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 to promote empowerment, growth, convergence and saturation for a prosperous and resilient rural India. It will establish a future-ready, convergence-driven, saturation-oriented rural development architecture.

Will the changes affect the scheme implementation going forward?

Experts and political parties allege that by shifting the financial burden to the States — increasing their share from the current 10 per cent to 40 per cent — the rural employment scenario may return to the pre-2005 levels when schemes like National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Jawahar Rozgar Yojana ORY) and Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) were not able to provide average more than 20 days of employment.