3 months ago
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Hitting retired astatine the Modi government, the Congress connected Monday (February 2, 2026) said MGNREGA was a transformative instrumentality portion the caller strategy brought by the Centre that "bulldozed it away" is simply a "flaw".
Congress wide caput in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said precisely 20 years agone today, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) was launched astatine Badnapalli colony successful Anantapur territory of Andhra Pradesh.
"Over the years, it has provided 180 crore days of enactment to agrarian households (especially women), created an estimated 10 crore assemblage assets, importantly reduced distress migration, empowered gram panchayats, and decisively accrued the bargaining powerfulness of the agrarian mediocre for higher wages," Mr. Ramesh said connected X.
It besides launched the nonstop payment transportation inaugural to recognition wages straight into slope and station bureau accounts, helium said.
Individual tiny and marginal farmers were capable to found irrigation facilities similar digging wells connected their ain lands, the Congress person said.
MGNREGA was a demand-based ineligible warrant and not conscionable an administrative promise, Mr. Ramesh asserted.
"It was a close derived from Article 41 of the Constitution. Work was allocated erstwhile demanded by citizens and was made disposable anyplace successful agrarian India. Projects were decided upon by the section Gram Panchayat, and the State Government having to wage lone 10% of the wide costs was incentivised to supply enactment without having to carnivore important costs," helium said.
Social audits done the Gram Sabha and high-level audits done the CAG were conducted regularly, Mr. Ramesh pointed out.
He further claimed that Modi Government's caller instrumentality guarantees lone centralisation successful New Delhi.
Work volition present beryllium notified successful definite districts by the Modi government, helium added.
"Work volition beryllium provided based connected the Government's allocated fund alternatively than connected national demand. The strategy volition halt altogether for 2 months each twelvemonth during highest cultivation activities - a large stroke to workers' bargaining powerfulness who won't beryllium capable to negociate amended wages for cultivation work," Mr. Ramesh said.
The panchayat has been sidelined, and projects volition beryllium determined by the Modi authorities according to its priorities, helium said.
Finally, States volition present person to carnivore 40% of the costs fixed their fiscal stress, they volition not beryllium capable to bash truthful and volition halt providing enactment altogether, helium opined.
"MGNREGA was a transformative law. The Modi government's caller strategy that bulldozed it distant is simply a flaw," Mr. Ramesh said.
Mr. Ramesh besides shared a photograph from 20 years agone erstwhile Cheemala Pedakka, a Dalit pistillate from Badnapalli, became the archetypal occupation paper holder nether MGNREGA.
The Union government's Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), was passed by some Houses amid absorption uproar and received statesmanlike assent successful December 2025, efficaciously replacing MGNREGA aft 2 decades.
Under the caller law, the statutory warrant of employment was accrued connected insubstantial from 100 to 125 days per agrarian household each year, and changes were made successful backing patterns, readying mechanisms and implementation structures.
Opposition parties person argued the caller instrumentality dilutes the rights-based quality of MGNREGA, increases centralisation of power, and saddles states with greater fiscal responsibilities, perchance weakening the archetypal ineligible entitlement to work.
