The Kerala government has requested the Centre to reconsider the new conditions introduced in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme which has resulted in the restriction of employment opportunities for those seeking work.
Replying to a calling attention motion by P.S. Supal, MLA, on the changed scope of the MNREGA scheme in the Kerala Assembly on Wednesday, Minister for Excise and Local Self-Government M.V. Govindan said the new clauses introduced in the scheme by the Centre had resulted in a reduction in the man-days of work.
The new clauses came into effect from August 1 this year, according to which, in every grama panchayat, permission has to be taken from the district programme coordinator if more than 20 jobs at a time have to be sanctioned. Unlike in other States, most grama panchayats in Kerala are heavily populated, with at least 27,000 persons needing employment. The new clauses are thus restrictive for the State, he said.
Mr. Govindan pointed out that if employment cannot be provided for all job-seekers under the MNREGA Act, the government will have to pay them unemployment wages also. The State has thus requested that the new changes in the Act be reconsidered.
He said though the State had requested 10.32 crore man-days under MNREGA, only 6 crore man-days have been allowed by the Centre this year. Last year, there were 10.59 crore man-days of work.
The government has thus requested the Centre to allow more man-days of work to the State, Mr. Govindan said, adding that the wages fixed for work by the Centre was inadequate. The current wages of ₹311/day is much lower than the minimum wages fixed for farmers in the State, he said.
The State has also written to the Centre requesting that the workers under the MNREGA scheme be included in the ESI medical benefits scheme.
