MGNREGA restructuring leads to its gradual dismantling

Rajamahendravaram: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been a major boon to rural India and any attempt to rename or dilute the scheme is aimed at erasing the Gandhiji’s legacy, said Gidugu Rudra Raju, CWC special invitee.

Speaking to ‘The Hans India’ in Rajamahendravaram on Monday, he alleged that the move to change the name of MGNREGA to Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgaar and Aajeevika Mission Gramin is malafide and driven by the desire to remove Mahatma Gandhi’s name. He said the BJP and its ideological mentor RSS, have historically opposed Gandhian ideals, and targeting MGNREGA amounts to striking at Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj and service to the poorest. Rudra Raju said MGNREGA symbolises Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s commitment to the uplift of the rural poor.

He recalled that the scheme was conceived after Sonia Gandhi witnessed distress migration during her visit to Anantapur district in 2004. The Act, passed in 2005 and renamed MGNREGA in 2009, guaranteed 100 days of employment and helped create durable rural assets, he said. He stated that MGNREGA played a key role in preventing distress migration and provided vital support during the Covid pandemic. Alleging that the Modi government has been steadily reducing funds and shifting the burden to States, he warned that renaming and restructuring the scheme could lead to its gradual dismantling.

He called upon civil society to oppose the move and protect the statutory right to employment for rural households.