Facelift for Employment Guarantee Scheme

All central or state schemes in the country have always witnessed updation from time to time. Often, some of the disadvantages of many schemes become clear only after they are passed by the Parliament or the Legislative Assembly and come into force as laws. Some schemes implemented for the upliftment of certain sections are often not implemented efficiently. Not only that, but it also becomes clear that the benefits of the schemes do not produce the desired results due to the impracticality of some of the provisions and pave the way for exploitation by middlemen. Therefore, it is not logical to argue that the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, which was launched by the UPA government in 2005 with the aim of empowering the rural sector, should not be subjected to changes to improve its effectiveness, particularly as it reaches key milestones like its twentieth year.

Many welfare and developmental schemes launched after independence have been modified by the central government at various times. The main objective of the Employment Guarantee Scheme launched by the UPA government was to eradicate extreme poverty from the country. Along with this, the scheme aimed to create at least a temporary solution to the increasing unemployment. This is a scheme that got accepted across India beyond expectations. The biggest feature of this scheme is that the wages for those who are part of it will be received in their bank accounts. Until then, to receive the benefits of any scheme, one had to go to government offices and extend one's hands in front of the officials. The majority viewed it as a gesture of generosity by the government.

The Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is the first scheme to deviate from this general nature of schemes in independent India. The schemes till then involved pre-allocated budgets and predetermined benefits, meaning people had to fit the government's plan. These were government grants. However, the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was a demand-based entitlement scheme. The new bill will make it a grant scheme again. The amount initially fixed as the wage for the scheme was very low. The daily wage in Kerala at that time was many times that. Although intellectuals had predicted that there would be no people in Kerala to be part of the scheme, experience has shown that this was wrong. The number of women who are part of the employment guarantee scheme as part of Kudumbashree units and others is very high. A large part of the remuneration they receive is spent on the welfare of the family. This is the biggest charm of this scheme.

It cannot be said that the Employment Guarantee Scheme did not help the second term of the UPA government politically. The BJP government at the Centre decided to continue the scheme without abandoning it because it understood that this scheme was good. Although the scheme was named after Mahatma Gandhi only in 2009, its omission from the new bill cannot be justified. The opposition in Parliament must stand strong against this. Another important change is that the states' share of 10 percent has been increased to 40 percent. When this happens, doubts may arise as to whether the scheme will not be implemented in many places. However, the state government cannot avoid implementing it because of the provision that if employment is not provided within 15 days, the state government will have to pay unemployment allowance to the beneficiary. Increasing the number of working days from 100 to 125 in a year is commendable. The opposition should study the bill in depth and make constructive changes.