“What happens in just Rs 168 provided by MGNREGA? On top of that, only 100 days of work is provided. So, 265 days a year, we do not have work. We don’t even have the money to get some medical treatment for our families. When in need, we have to borrow money at 15% interest rate. What else may we do? We will always be poor,” said Saro Devi, who lives in Jamho village in Latehar district of Jharkhand.
The world’s largest scheme guaranteeing employment, MGNREGA, (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is a source of great earning for those living in villages.
As per the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDGs) 2019-20 report of NITI Aayog, India has slipped four points further in its target to achieve ‘poverty-free India’ by 2030. Instead of progressing, 22 states in the country have actually fallen further below.
The population living below the poverty line in the country has reached 21 per cent. The five indicators in the SDG report of NITI Aayog of the estimation of poverty in the country include the percentage of people employed in MGNREGA. However, the labourers working in MGNREGA in rural India are not satisfied with the current wage rates and the work provided.
Jitendra Paswan and his wife Saraswati Devi of Chitoria Gram Panchayat have been working under MGNREGA in Mansahi block of Bihar. Today, Jitender is a sarpanch, but his wife still works as a labourer under MGNREGA. The wages of the villagers working in MGNREGA are less than the labourers working in the fields.
“MGNREGA workers get very upset when they do not get timely wages. They also come to us complaining that they borrow money from others because their families need to be looked after. At least, the government should give timely wages as per MGNREGA law. Unless the government increases the budget of MGNREGA and expands the scope of MGNREGA by linking it with more schemes and provides work for at least 200 days a year, the development of the village will remain a distant dream. It is important for MGNREGA’s budget to be increased,” said Jitendra Paswan.
Debmallya Nandi, convener of MGNREGA Sangharsh Morcha in Jharkhand, told Gaon Connection over the phone: “The situation in the rural areas is bad. The youth do not have employment opportunities and they are ready to work even for the lowest wages. It is imperative that the government fixes a budget of at least Rs 90,000 crore for MGNREGA and widens its scope. Also, the wage rates in MGNREGA should be increased so that the villagers have money and their purchasing power is increased.”
On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an institution working on trade, sustainable development, employment and poverty alleviation, said in its recent assessment that India’s economic growth has fallen, for which the low income of the villagers is a major reason. It also indicated that global economic growth is expected to come down due to India’s falling economic growth rate.
The situation in West Bengal is even worse. Sandeep Singha, a MGNREGA worker living in Damonda village of Daatan-02 block in Medinipur district of the state, said: “For a year, there has been no new job card issued in our state. Even the youth are unable to find. Now, there is only one job card issued per rural family, whereas the government must provide every adult man in the family with a job card so that more and more people get work in MGNREGA.”
Asha Kapoor Mehta, an economist with the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi, explained: “So far as MGNREGA is concerned, its budget for rural areas is very low. The government should not only increase the budget, but also must increase the number of days of guaranteed work to a rural household from the current 100 days. All this will be made possible only by expanding the scope of MGNREGA.”
She added: “Firstly, if somebody is willing to work, it is the responsibility of the government to provide employment. Rising poverty and unemployment are very sensitive issues in the country, and the Center as well as the state governments need to work together, have an in-depth assessment of the different situations in various states and accordingly, the work should be carried out at the grassroots level.”
According to NITI Aayog’s SDG report, Chhattisgarh fares the worst among the poorer states of the country, where about 40 per cent of the population is living below the poverty line. Jharkhand follows Chhattisgarh where 37 per cent of the people are below the poverty line.
“Even though our state is rich in natural resources, our men in the village either do farming or work in MGNREGA,” said Dharam Sai, a farmer living in the remote Bilhama village of Block Ludra in Chhattisgarh. “There are many landless farmers who sit idle when failing to find work in MGNREGA because they cannot go to the distant city and work. So, the government should also provide other employment opportunities,” he added.
Professor Amarkant Pandey from Department of Economics at Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University in Chhattisgarh, informed: “The government should emphasize on improving employment and poverty alleviation. Moreover, the tendency to hand out everything free of cost is also not correct. This is what has aggravated the state of poverty. It is necessary for people to get work and improve their standard of living.”
The National Crime Records Bureau, an institution collecting crime data across the country has already presented us with the horrific picture arising out of poverty and unemployment. As per its 2018 report, 10 people are committing suicides every day in the country due to poverty and unemployment.
Arun Kumar, a professor of economics for three decades at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, said: “Poverty and unemployment are fast spreading within the country. Today, the 0.5 per cent growth rate talked about in the country is, in fact, not even zero, but -0.2 per cent because the calculation of growth rate is faulty. It is because the unorganized sector has not been considered under this calculation.”
Oxfam, an institution working to eradicate world poverty, said in a report released in January 2020 that the wealth of one per cent of the country’s rich people is four times more than the total wealth of 70 per cent of the lower-income population. The country’s 63 billionaires have more assets than the country’s one-year budget.
Professor Arun Kumar, a senior economist, said: “The Oxfam report has highlighted a significant figure of wealth with the rich. Earlier, we have also been advising the government that it is imperative to collect property tax from the elite and this money should be directed to the village, the poor and the farmer welfare through the schemes so that the rural and agricultural economy improves and people get employment.”
When asked to what extent the people of the village need employment, Suraj Kumar, 27, who works at Kazjakpura in Varanasi, explained: “I am educated, but what to do, there are no jobs. So, I work to make brass nuggets in a factory here where one gets money per item manufactured. I earn Rs 120-130 a day. The work is complicated. If you get hurt, there is no separate provision. But what is to be done save for these odd jobs? The government should at least provide better jobs to people like me.”
