Restore MGNREGS: Telangana Assembly Resolution

Hyderabad: The Assembly on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution urging the Centre to restore the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), after Parliament passed the Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB G RAM G) Act.

Introducing the resolution, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned that changes to the old scheme could trigger migration to cities and deprive the rural poor of guaranteed work.

“The new law is against women labourers. In the currently implemented MGNREGA, approximately 62 per cent of the beneficiaries were women. The limited allocation system incorporated in the new law will reduce the number of workdays. This will cause hardship to women in poor families. To achieve women's empowerment, the old system must be restored,” he said.

Revanth Reddy noted that in Telangana over the past 20 years, nearly 90 per cent of beneficiaries were from SC, ST and BC communities. Dalits, tribals, persons with disabilities, Adivasis, Chenchus and other poor sections, along with women, had gained the most.

The resolution said the G RAM G Act was detrimental to the rights of the poor. It criticised the change in funding ratio from 100 per cent Central to 60:40 Centre‑state, calling it a violation of federalism and an added burden on states.

It also said removing Mahatma Gandhi’s name diluted the spirit of the scheme, and termed the mandatory 60‑day break during the agricultural season unjust to landless labourers. It demanded employment guarantee throughout the year.

“Currently, there is a provision to undertake 266 types of work through the Employment Guarantee Scheme. The removal of labour‑intensive works such as land development in the new law will harm small and marginal farmers, Dalits, and tribals. The current list of works should be allowed to continue unchanged,” the resolution underlined.