THE BIDUPUR colony in the heart of Jalangi village in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district was once a bustling community with over 70 families. Today, 50 of the houses lie vacant, and the colony has turned into a ghostly shadow of its former self. Like the residents of the colony, people from across villages in West Bengal have been forced to migrate to cities in the past two years because of the abrupt discontinuation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), a Central scheme that guarantees 100 days of employment to rural households that demand work.
On December 21, 2021, the central government halted the funds for the scheme after accusing the state government of financial irregularities. Three months later, in March 2022, the Centre discontinued the scheme in the state, plunging at least 13.1 million people who demanded work under MGNREGS in 2020-21 into uncertainty.
The scheme’s discontinuation has pushed rural West Bengal into “extreme distress”, says Nikhil Dey, co-founder of worker rights nonprofit Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. It not only ensured guaranteed wages for the rural poor but also acted as a bulwark against distress migration. Additionally, it helped stabilise labour prices by granting the poor the right to negotiate their wages. “All of these gains have been undone in the state, forcing people to seek employment in distant cities under dismal working conditions and meagre pay,” he says.
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Vision 2030
Economic growth must take into account needs of energy transition, climate mitigation, with action aligned as per India's 2030 climate goals
FIX OUR FOOD
Chemical-dependent farming, lax labelling laws, rising anti-microbial resistance must top the agenda
BATTLE THE CAR BULGE
Clean, affordable, integrated and accessible public transport the only solution
CONSERVE NOW
Disregard for biodiversity conservation over the past two decades needs immediate redressal
SCRAP THE DUMP
Disincentivise garbage dumping, invest in behavioural change
PLAN THEM COOL
As urban India turns into a heat trap, the government must focus on improving cities' liveability
THINK LONG-TERM
India needs continued emphasis on flagship programmes, aligned to long-term planning that focusses on water security and circular economy in a climate-risked era
OVERHAUL OVERDUE
Hold polluting industries accountable for public health risks, environmental hazards, climate change; provide them support for green transition
LOOK BEYOND DUST
Reinvent National Clean Air Programme to focus on fine particulate matter and trans-boundary pollution
IT'S NOW OR NEVER
Clean energy sectors need demand-driven markets and domestic industries that can cater to the entire value chain