Civil society groups in Rajasthan on Friday called for lifting of restrictions on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) works in the rural areas, while affirming that the State government’s orders had weakened the flagship employment venture during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Against 50 lakh labourers engaged for MGNREGS works during June last year, only 18.8 lakh have got the work this year, despite the rural population’s complete dependence on the scheme for their livelihood. Works have not been sanctioned on a large scale in the village panchayats and those demanding employment as a statutory right are not getting it.
Activists said an order of the State government to restrict the number of labourers at a site to 30 to avoid crowding was being misinterpreted for sanctioning only a single work in each village panchayat. This has resulted in a very few persons getting employment in the villages, leading to hunger and starvation.
In a memorandum sent to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the Suchna Evum Rozgar Adhikar Abhiyan has demanded that the orders on restrictions be withdrawn and a provision be made for giving work for an additional 50 days to the villagers affected by the pandemic.
A ‘ Kaam Maango ’ (seek the work) campaign should also be launched in all blocks of the State and the measurement of task for giving wages reduced by half for the labourers who were recovering from the COVID-19 infection, Mukesh Nirvasit of the Abhiyan said. Representatives of about 100 organisations signed the memorandum, which was submitted to the Collectors at district headquarters and Block Development Officers in more than 50 blocks on Friday.
