A rural safety net is essential in India

Under the stewardship of Union rural development minister Nitin Gadkari, things are looking far from good for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the 2005 law passed with cross-party support under UPA-1 that came to be hailed as the world’s largest rural job guarantee scheme although, at home, some fair criticisms were also levelled at the way the project worked on the ground. The critics pointed to corruption and noted that contractors were pocketing money by padding muster rolls and giving the workers less than they were promised. A good deal of this was true.

But it was equally noteworthy that the scheme gave employment to 50 million rural workers at a relatively small cost to the exchequer — something like 0.3 per cent of the GDP. Further, with the government’s insistence on bank accounts being opened for workers (and this process has not fully matured), the money began to go directly to bank or post office accounts and that helped to reduce corruption.

But Mr Gadkari, a businessman who did some construction work in Mumbai as a minister in Maharashtra, is not impressed with the employment aspect. He appears keen to reduce the financing of the employment component of the MGNREGA and increase the material component. This can only help contractors who are, in any case, known to drool at the prospect of being hired for infrastructure projects and other public works. Under the original law, 60 per cent of the financing was to go for wages and 40 for materials. Mr Gadkari has made known his intention to make this 51:49. In wishing to bring this about, he is reported to be overruling the top civil servants in his ministry who point out that five crore rural families will go to rack and ruin if deprived of wage employment under MGNREGA.

The scheme was originally meant to offer 100 days of guaranteed unskilled work to every rural household and the UPA had said it desired to push this up to 150 days. The NDA proposes to lower the employment period. In addition, it also seeks to withdraw the coverage of the scheme by about one-third. Social activists like Aruna Roy, who was a force behind the implementation of the MGNREGA are naturally disappointed with the rural development minister’s cavalier attitude. They have written to the PM. In the end, the whole thing may turn on how large their campaign to save rural jobs turns out to be.