mgnrega-overhaul-kisan-mazdoor-morcha-to-hold-stir-on-dec-29

The Kisan Mazdoor Morcha Bharat has strongly criticised the Central Government's recent legislative changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), alleging that the new policies are aimed at depriving MGNREGA workers of employment across the country.

 

By stripping District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) offices and panchayats of their implementation powers, the Morcha said, the Centre is centralising control over work approvals, a change they plan to oppose through a series of district-level demonstrations starting later this month. In protest against these policies, the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha Bharat announced that it will burn effigies of the Narendra Modi government on December 29 at district headquarters across Punjab.

 

 

The organisation stated that the Centre has effectively decided to curtail MGNREGA by reducing its funding by nearly 40 per cent. It further alleged that powers previously vested in panchayats and state government institutions, particularly the DDPO offices, which played a key role in implementing MGNREGA works, are being stripped. According to the Morcha, the Central Government is now centralising decisions on which works will be approved and who will be employed, thereby weakening local self-governance.

 

The Morcha also claimed that several categories of permissible work under MGNREGA are being cut down. In Punjab alone, there are around 11-12 lakh job cards, while across India, nearly 12 crore workers depend on MGNREGA for their livelihood. The organisation alleged that by pushing these workers into unemployment, the Centre is attempting to provide cheap labour to corporate houses.

 

The Morcha demanded that MGNREGA be restored and implemented in its earlier form. It also called for increasing guaranteed work to 200 days per year and raising daily wages to Rs 700. Additionally, the organisation announced its opposition to the four labour codes implemented by the Central government, alleging that they undermine workers' rights nationwide.

 

Also read: Punjab farmers hold massive protest in Chandigarh