NREGA allowed to die slow death, G RAM G no succour: Workers

As the Congress and BJP in the state spar over the Centre’s new rural employment Act - VB G RAM G - workers on the ground, social activists and legal experts have demanded that VB G RAM G be scrapped and the UPA-era MGNREGA be restored to ‘safeguard people’s right to work’.

The workers fear massive exclusion of workers from the scheme and poor wages. This is because the gram panchayats will lose power to decide on the projects (asset creation) as central allocations will decide fate of projects and wages.

They suspect MGNREGA was deliberately allowed to die a slow death, citing corruption and lack of accountability.

A close look at the scheme’s progress in Karnataka confirms their fear. MGNREGA in Karnataka has seen a decline in the number of beneficiaries availing the scheme.

There are 17.9 crore registered workers. However, as on date, only 71 lakh are active. Of the 81.09 lakh registered job cards, only 41.06 lakh cards were active in 2024-25.

Likewise, the approved budget for labour alone decreased from Rs 16 crore to Rs 9 crore in 5 years. 

Mahantesh Hunagund, a MGNREGA worker from Raichur, said, “Glitches in technology - digital attendance and Aadhaar-based payments system - led to workers’ exclusion”.

Aadhaar linking

Rajendra Narayanan, faculty, Azim Premji University, said, “In 2022, officials were under pressure to complete Aadhaar linking within tight deadlines, which resulted in massive deletion of MGNREGA job cards as seasonal migrations kept workers out of reach. At least two thirds of all deletions mentioned the reason as ‘worker not willing to work now”.

‘No curb on graft’ 

“The NDA government is not keen on weeding out corruption. The MGNREGA Council (comprising civil society and government officials), meant for giving feedback on projects, has not held a single meeting in the last 10 years. Also, social audit allocations to states have reduced,” said Narayanan.

Suvarna Kuthale, activist, Jagrutha Mahila Okkoota, Khanapur (Belagavi district), said, “It is the officials who are corrupt, not workers.”

In the new legislation, enhancing workdays from 100 to 125 is a sham, feel activists.