Don't rename rural job scheme: Anbumani

CHENNAI: PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Tuesday urged the Union government not to change the name of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) or alter its existing funding-sharing pattern, even as he welcomed the proposal to increase the number of workdays under the scheme.

In a statement, Anbumani said a Bill proposing amendments to the rural employment scheme, which has been in operation for two decades, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. While the draft contained several positive features, he said renaming the scheme and changing the cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and states were unjustified.

He said the PMK had consistently demanded that the number of workdays under the scheme be increased to 150, as even 5 per cent of beneficiaries were not getting the assured 100 days of employment. Against this backdrop, the proposal to raise the number of workdays to 125 was welcome, as it would provide beneficiaries with more employment opportunities. He also welcomed the provision barring MGNREGA works during key agricultural operations such as sowing and harvesting, saying this would ensure adequate labour availability for farming.

However, Anbumani strongly opposed the proposal to drop Gandhi’s name from the scheme and to give it a Hindi tag. He also criticised the move to increase the states’ share of expenditure from the existing 10 per cent to 40 per cent, calling both changes unacceptable. These provisions should continue as they were, he said.

He further urged the Centre to ensure that the authority to decide the nature, location and timing of works under the scheme remained with State governments and local bodies, and not be centralised.