Changes under MGNREGA condemned – The Hindu

Members of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) staged a demonstration outside the Collectorate on Tuesday, condemning recent changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

A. Balamurugan, district secretary of TARATDAC, alleged that under the new Viksit Bharat – Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-GRAM G), several protections mandated by the original MGNREGA had been dismantled.

These revisions, he claimed, paved the way for employers to deny rightful employment to persons with disabilities.

“While MGNREGA mandated the inclusion of a specific percentage of differently abled individuals in every work batch, the VB-GRAM G framework lacks such inclusive norms,” Balamurugan stated.

He noted that under previous rules, differently abled workers were eligible for full daily wages for four hours of labour. The new regulations have reportedly removed this provision.

The protesters criticised the Union government for shifting the financial burden. While the Centre previously dominated funding, the new rules require State governments to provide 60% of the funds required to sustain the scheme.

Mr. Balamurugan warned that most State governments would be unable to bear this fiscal weight, leading to a drastic reduction in workdays and total employment.

Describing the changes as a “cleverly orchestrated strategy” by the BJP-led Union government, Mr. Balamurugan argued that the dilution of benefits is a precursor to shutting down one of the world’s largest mass-employment projects.

He said that while all rural workers are at risk, the differently abled community would bear the most immediate and devastating impact of these job losses.