The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Friday objected to various measures being considered by the Modi government to dilute the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Briefing mediapersons here, Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat referred to Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s suggestion to the Rural Development Ministry to turn the MGNREGA into a scheme so that it is not a legal entitlement. The CPI(M) also pointed out that the Programme Review Committee (PRC) decided to include a provision in the MGNREGA software to allow generation of Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) even if there is no fund available in the banks. As per the PRC minutes, “this will enable queuing of the FTOs and stoppage of calculation of delay compensation.”
Ms. Karat said this meant an FTO, even without payment of wages into the workers account, is sufficient to stop calculation of payment of wages since it can be shown that the order was made even if the money was not given.
