2 months ago
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For the past 87 days, MGNREGS workers person been protesting astatine the Muzaffarpur territory office successful Bihar. The Union authorities had assured them that until the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–G RAM G) Act, 2025, passed by Parliament successful December, is rolled out, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) would proceed unchanged. But connected the ground, workers accidental the communicative is precise different.
The protestation successful Muzaffarpur began connected January 2 this year. Nearly 12,000 workers successful the territory person not received enactment for the past 3 to 4 months — adjacent earlier the caller agrarian employment instrumentality was introduced.
There is nary clarity connected erstwhile the caller strategy nether the VB–G RAM G Act volition beryllium implemented connected the ground, arsenic the Centre is inactive holding talks with States to found the indispensable framework.
‘Instructed not to commencement caller work’
“Usually, nary enactment is fixed during the rains. We waited for the monsoon to end, past for the waterlogged areas to drain. By December, the MGNREGA play usually begins. But contempt repeated demand, nary enactment has been provided. This is simply a blatant usurpation of the law,” said Sanjay Sahni of MGNREGA Watch-Bihar, an organisation moving with agrarian workers.
Facing repeated rejections, astir 16,000 workers — astir of them women — gathered astatine the territory office to request work. When that yielded nary response, a delegation travelled to Delhi connected March 25 to conscionable elder officials successful the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
“The territory officials assertion they person instructions not to commencement immoderate caller work. But the Ministry officials importune that nary specified bid exists,” Mr. Sahni said. He wonders whether it is deficiency of accusation oregon whether determination is an informal awesome from the Centre to halt each enactment nether MGNREGA.
Lack of clarity
This uncertainty is not constricted to Bihar. In Rajasthan’s Dungarpur district, akin complaints person emerged. At Balwarha panchayat, astir 40 women workers arrived connected the greeting of March 23 to implicit paperwork for April’s enactment cycle. Panchayat officials asked them to instrumentality later, citing a deficiency of clarity. On Saturday, they were told that MGNREGA had been discontinued and nary further enactment would beryllium disposable nether the scheme.
A fewer kilometres away, astatine Padarmarhi Mewarha panchayat, astir 30 women workers sat for 4 hours past Friday, demanding enactment for the archetypal week of April. Local officials initially claimed that directions had been issued not to commencement caller MGNREGA works. After the women refused to leave, block-level officials besides arrived. The workers’ applications were yet accepted, but uncertainty continues whether immoderate enactment volition really beryllium assigned.
“For each household, MGNREGA enactment brings successful astir ₹25,000 to ₹28,000 annually. The interaction of non-availability is not uniform. In immoderate women-led households, MGNREGA and authorities pensions are the lone sources of income,” said Madhulika of the Rajasthan Asangathit Mazdoor Union (RAMU). The villages successful this portion are predominantly tribal. Working crossed 13 villages and with astir 900 enrolled workers, she said akin complaints person been pouring successful from aggregate panchayats.
Formal orders vs crushed reality
“There are nary ceremonial orders. In fact, the VB–G Ram G Act intelligibly states that until it is implemented, MGNREGA volition continue. But connected the ground, we are being told otherwise,” she said.
In Rajasthan’s Beawar district, the concern is nary different. On March 21, astir 150 women who reached the Rawat Mal gram panchayat were told that officials were awaiting caller forms nether the caller law.
“They were not fixed Form 6, which workers indispensable taxable to request work. Officials claimed that caller forms nether VB–G Ram G were expected, and until they arrived, nary enactment could beryllium offered,” Kanika from the Beawar portion of RAMU said.
