The NDA’S false parenthood claim
The government has rightly allocated an additional ~40,000 crore as a Covid-19 fiscal stimulus to MGNREGS. Indeed, this is one of its main fiscal, Covid-19 components, while 90% of the remaining is misleading monetary policy, supply side announcements, clumsily camouflaged as being a fiscal stimulus. The UPA government kept increasing allocations every year to MGNREGS since its inception. In FY 2009-10, ~16,000 crore was allocated to the scheme. The next year, it was increased by 150% to ~39,100 crore. This government’s apologists who are misleading the national discourse should point out a single year of such significant increase by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the last six years. It appears that Modi 1.0 and 2.0 have averaged an annual 12.8% increase in MGNREGS allocation, which is much less than the lowest increase by UPA 1 and 2.
American author Maxine Kingston rightly said: “In a time of destruction, create something.” The original parents of such beneficial social welfare schemes have no problem if their success spawns new parents and new ownership. But during the “destruction” wrought by the virus, why is this government maintaining a strategic silence regarding the increase of MGNREGS’ from 100 days to 200?
Why are we not at least attempting to move closer to universally paying minimum wages under MGNREGS? Why is the government not clearing its dues of ~16,000 crore, which reduces its actual claimed MGNREGS package of one lakh crore rupees to ~84,000 crore? Why are ministers hiding the fact that instead of 100 days, the ground reality suggests the fulfilment of barely 75 days in many cases, even 50 in some? Why can the government not enhance the boundaries of this successful scheme to six months or to the end of the pandemic? Why has this fear of fiscal deficit and/ or the terror of downgrades by rating agencies paralysed this government, which does not seem to be aware of elementary concepts such as monetising debt to liberally fund lifeline schemes such as MGNREGS?
It is only when you achieve, even partially, the above imperatively urgent reforms to MGNREGS that the nation will at least consider recognising you as adoptive, not biological, parents of the scheme.