Death knell for the rural job guarantee, Pg7

Key Highlights:

• The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act (VB-G RAM G), 2025 Act has replaced the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) after receiving Presidential assent.
• The new Act shifts from a demand-driven to a command-driven model, giving the Union government discretionary powers over public works and fund allocation.
• The Centre to State funding ratio has been altered to 60:40 for most States, potentially leading to political favouritism and financial strain on States.
• The Act proposes a 60-day period with no employment during the agricultural season, which may exacerbate existing inequalities.

Detailed Insights:

• MGNREGA was enacted to provide a justiciable right to work, unemployment allowance, timely wage payments, and gender parity, strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions.
• MGNREGA led to increased rural incomes, reduced poverty, higher school enrolment, decreased reliance on money lenders, and empowered women, with women's participation around 58% over the last five years.
• Chronic underfunding, wage payment delays, opaque technocratic initiatives, staff shortages, and underfunded social audits plagued MGNREGA in the decade prior to its replacement.
• The new Act places no obligation on the Union government for payment delays and may force States to stifle work demand due to fiscal prudence, leading to increased unemployment and distress migration.
• The proposition to not provide employment for 60 days during the agricultural season in the new Act may reinforce land, caste, and gender inequalities.
• The claim of providing 125 days of employment per household per year in the new Act is questionable, given the current funding situation and average days of work per year per household being around 50.

Key Concepts Involved:

• MGNREGA: Aims to enhance livelihood security of households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
• Panchayati Raj Institutions: Rural local self-government institutions responsible for planning and implementation of development programs at the village level.
• Justiciable Rights: Rights that can be protected and enforced in a court of law.