How to kill MNREGA in three easy steps? Just follow these govt's 'tricks', says Jairam Ramesh

Time of India

a day ago

Senior Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh
on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Centre, reacting to a report by The Indian Express that revealed a significant policy shift in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS).
The report stated that, for the first time, the central government has capped expenditure under MNREGA at 60% of its total annual budget for the first half of the financial year 2025–26.
Ramesh described the development as part of a deliberate "three-step formula" to systematically dismantle the rural employment scheme, which has served as a lifeline for millions of vulnerable households across India.
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'Three easy steps to kill MNREGA'
Referring to the
Indian Express report
, Ramesh outlined what he termed a calculated plan by the government to phase out the demand-driven scheme:
Step 1: Starve MNREGA of funds over the years, resulting in stagnant wages and a growing backlog of pending payments, which now stands at a staggering ₹21,000 crore at the beginning of FY 2025–26.
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Step 2: Impose the Finance Ministry's Monthly/Quarterly Expenditure Plan (MEP/QEP) on MNREGA, restricting ministries to spend only 60% of the total annual allocation in the first six months—thus undermining the flexible, demand-based nature of the programme.
Step 3: With no funds left after clearing backlogs, bring work allocation under the scheme to a near halt, denying rural households their legal right to employment.
Ramesh warned that the first two steps have already been executed, and the third is "now going to come out soon," which he said would mark the effective end of the scheme in practice.
"What needs to be done instead"
In response, the Congress leader laid out a list of corrective measures to safeguard and strengthen MNREGA:
Raise daily wages to ₹400 to account for inflation and ensure basic livelihood security.
Scrap the mandatory
Aadhaar-Based Payment System
(ABPS), which he said creates unnecessary delays and exclusions.
Ensure timely wage payments within the statutory 15-day limit, and compensate workers in case of delays.
"Instead of fixing what's broken, the government seems to be dismantling the only safety net millions depend on," Ramesh said, accusing the Modi government of prioritizing fiscal optics over rural welfare.
The govt's new rulebook
According to the report, the Ministry of Finance has, for the first time, included MNREGA under its MEP/QEP framework — a cash flow management tool introduced in 2017.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), which had previously resisted such constraints citing the scheme's demand-driven nature, reportedly submitted its quarterly expenditure plan as directed, only to be denied permission to exceed the 60% threshold in the first half of FY 2025–26.
This move, experts say, will likely slow down work allocations and further delay wage payments, especially during peak agricultural lean seasons when demand for rural jobs typically surges.