FERTILE POLITICS, FAILED DEBATE

N January 5, the Congress party will launch 'save MGNREGA' movement.

- C P SURENDRAN

The rural poor need all the help they can get. MGNREGA was enacted in 2005 and has helped millions. Yet, a generation later, why is that part of India not in reasonable shape?

I believe the battle over MGNREGA is, by default, political. The Bharatiya Janata Party seeks to claim another mantle of beneficence, while the Congress refuses to relinquish its legacy. Both are indirectly admitting that they have failed in their mission to improve village life substantively.

The scheme guarantees 100 days of unskilled manual work per year to every rural household. Wages vary by state: Haryana pays the highest daily wage (₹374), while Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh pay the lowest (₹234). Wages are funded entirely by the Centre, with material and administrative costs shared with the states.

Crucially, these wages are not equivalent to state-mandated minimum wages, which are higher. In Kerala, for instance, the minimum wage for construction work can exceed ₹1,000 a day. This explains why the Bilaspur Express arrives weekly in Kerala, crammed with aspirants from Chhattisgarh. This migration persists despite the ever-present risk of violence, as witnessed in the recent lynching of migrant labourer Ram Narayan.

The BJP-led government is not formally 'repealing' the scheme-though it may consider excising Mahatma Gandhi from its name for political reasons. The Modi administration prefers to build parallel welfare systems, exemplified by the PM-KISAN, which provides direct cash transfers.