New Delhi: The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed a bill that seeks to replace the 20-year-old MGNREGA with a new initiative that guarantees rural jobs for 125 days every year amid vociferous protests by the Opposition, and Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan asserting that the change was necessary to fix shortcomings in the scheme.
Responding to the eight-hour discussion on the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill, Rural Development Minister Chouhan lashed out at the Congress, claiming that the opposition party had “killed” the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi many times over and used his name to further political gains.
Chouhan said during the UPA rule, MGNREGA was riddled with corruption and the expected amount of funds was not spent on procurement of material for designated jobs.
“Funds were not allotted to the states as expected. MGNREGA was riddled with problems. As per the Act, 60 per cent of the funds were to be spent on labour and 40 per cent on material. But, only 26 per cent was spent on material and funds were siphoned off. Corruption was rampant under MGNREGA,” he said.
Chouhan said the G RAM G Bill was brought after extensive deliberations as it was felt that amount to the tune of Rs 10-11 lakh crore should not be spent on merely paying wages, but used for creating permanent assets.
“We have made provisions to improve employment. On the other hand, this vast amount will be used to build fully developed villages which has been the goal of the Modi government,” he said.
He said the G RAM G initiative will focus on water security by creating lakes, micro-irrigation channels, developing core rural infrastructure, livelihood related infrastructure and special works to mitigate extreme weather events.
Chouhan said all the assets created will be aggregated to the Viksit Bharat National Rural Infrastructure Stack.
At the outset of the session, Congress member K C Venugopal urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the Bill to a parliamentary committee for threadbare examination.
Birla turned down the demand, saying an eight-hour debate had taken place on the Bill and 98 members across party lines had spoken at length till past midnight on Wednesday night.
As opposition members raised slogans and tore copies of the Bill, Chouhan hit out at the Congress for “insulting” Mahatma Gandhi and “killing” his ideals time and again.
“The opposition is murdering Bapu’s ideals. I listened to the honourable members until 1:30 am at night. Just having your say and not listening to the views of others too is violence,” Chouhan said.
The minister asserted that the Modi government was ensuring that the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi were upheld through various initiatives taken by it.
“Congress killed ideals of Bapu, NDA ensured Bapu lives through pucca houses built under the PM Awas Yojana, Ujjwala yojana, Swachh Bharat Mission, Ayushman Bharat,” Chouhan said listing out government schemes for welfare of the poor.
“Those in the opposition who cry in the name of Gandhi ji should remember that Gandhi ji also said now that freedom has been achieved, the Congress should be dissolved. In its place, a Lok Sevak Sangh should be formed. But Nehru ji did not dissolve Congress to cling to power and exploit the freedom movement,” Chouhan said.
Opposition MPs trooped to the well of the House raising slogans against the government from dropping Mahatma Gandhi’s name from the rural jobs initiative and tearing copies of the G RAM G Bill and flinging it towards the chair.
The Lok Sabha passed the G RAM G Bill by a voice vote amid uproar by the opposition. The speaker adjourned the Lok Sabha for the day after the bill was passed.
Chouhan said the Congress, which is accusing the government of dropping the Mahatma Gandhi’s name, initially named its rural employment scheme National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA).
“Initially it was just NREGA and Mahatma Gandhi’s name was not included. Later, when the 2009 general elections came, Congress remembered Bapu to get votes,” the minister said.
He added that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who implemented the MGNREGA in a proper manner.
Chouhan said the VB-G RAM G Bill marked a major overhaul of MGNREGA and seeks to introduce a modern statutory framework aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
