The pandemic and subsequent national lockdown have exposed the long-existing vulnerabilities faced by India’s urban poor
Protesting workers at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. Photo: NREGA Sangharsh Morcha The time is ripe to conceptualise and implement a national urban employment guarantee, workers who held a protest in the national capital December 14, 2022, demanded.
They said the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent national lockdown had exposed the long-existing vulnerabilities faced by India’s urban poor.
“According to a survey, 8 out of 10 respondents in urban areas lost work during the national lockdown. Such a legal guarantee can be of tremendous benefit to informal-sector workers and returning migrants in urban areas, and also create public assets that improve the quality of urban life,” a memorandum submitted by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha and Working Peoples' Coalition said.
The Morcha is a national platform of organisations and individuals agitating for the entitlements of the Mahatma National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Read
The memorandum added that it was heartening to note that many state governments like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha and Jharkhand had taken steps to enact similar programmes for providing urban employment.
“A national act will be a paradigm shift forward in this regard and will make this a true guarantee,” it noted.
The document also noted that MGNREGA was “under attack”.
“Its legal provisions are being routinely violated and the Act is being implemented in a manner contrary to its spirit … By now there is incontrovertible evidence that inadequate funding leads to massive delays in wage payments,” it said.
Of the Rs 73,000 crores allocated for MGNREGA in the budget estimate for 2022-23, only Rs 67,451.19 crore have been sanctioned till date.
“By now there is incontrovertible evidence that inadequate funding leads to massive delays in wage payments. Even the Ministry of Finance has acknowledged this. Instead of focusing on core structural issues, the Union government has taken refuge in technological fixes that have been useless,” the memorandum read.
The workers, who had gathered at Jantar Mantar, also urged the enactment of The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 for all workers.
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.