Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 5 (PTI) The Kerala Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution demanding the Centre to withdraw the newly enacted VB-G RAM G Act and restore MGNREGA, joining three other non-BJP ruled southern states to bat for the UPA-era rural employment scheme.
The resolution was moved by the state Parliamentary Affairs Minister M B Rajesh and was passed by the House amidst the opposition Congress-led UDF’s protest over the Sabarimala gold loss issue.
Congress-ruled Karnataka and Telangana, besides Tamil Nadu where the DMK is in power, had earlier adopted assembly resolutions demanding for the withdrawal of Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) and restore MGNREGA.
Rajesh said that unlike the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was a fully central-sponsored scheme, the VB-G RAM G requires the state to bear 40 per cent of the expenditure, highlighting a concern shared by the other southern states that are opposing the new legislation tooth and nail.
He said that the new scheme will create a huge financial burden on the states and that it was devoid of the rights-based provisions which were the essence of the earlier law.
The minister also said that under the new scheme, grama panchayats have to be categorised as A, B and C and the employment scheme would be available in areas notified by the Centre.
As a result, many of the village panchayats in Kerala could be excluded from the scheme as they are more developed compared to their counterparts in other states and might, therefore, be included in the higher category, he added.
Rajesh said that the workers under the rural employment scheme were opposed to the new scheme which he claimed was “anti-people” and “deprives them of their right to work”.
“Therefore, the House is demanding that the new scheme, which is detrimental to poverty alleviation and fixes the burden of providing employment on the states, be withdrawn and the earlier MGNREGA be reinstated,” he said.
Incidentally, the Karnataka Assembly had adopted a similar resolution on Wednesday, while the two other states did so last month. PTI HMP SA
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