The CPIM) has alleged that Modi Government is trying to "strangle" the rural job guarantee scheme as well as other welfare programmes by periodically cutting budget allocations. The latest editorial of the Left party's organ People's Democracy also criticised the introduction this year of the compulsory marking of attendance by workers under the scheme through mobile-based application 'National Mobile Monitoring Service (NMMS)'.
"This has led to chaos at worksites across the country. With patchy internet connectivity, workers are reported to be spending hours just to get their attendance recorded. It is a life and death issue for them because failure to mark their attendance would mean loss of wages for the day," said the editorial.
"Imposition of this kind of hi-tech measures is a well known ploy of this government, ostensibly to tackle fraud. It has been imposed earlier in PDS distribution, in marking attendance of government school teachers, etc - all with similar chaotic and tragic consequences for the people," it said. Hitting out at the BJP Government at the Centre, it said ever since the Narendra Modi government came to power in 2014, it has been "trying to somehow strangle the rural job guarantee scheme (MGNREGS)".
"Driven by its commitment to the discredited neoliberal dogma that public expenditure should be cut down in order to allow the private sector to have its way and guide the economy more 'efficiently' and 'productively', the government has not only periodically cut budget allocations to various welfare schemes, including MGNREGS, but it has also taken other devious measures to squeeze the schemes," the editorial said.
The editorial also said that apart from internet connectivity issues, thousands are deprived of Public Distribution System (PDS) rations due to a slew of "errors", including Aadhaar mismatch, bank account mismatch and fingerprint recognition failure. "Similar problems are being faced by workers in MGNREGS. The effect of such rules is to discourage workers from approaching the MGNREGS system for work," it said.
Raising the issue of "delay" in wages for workers, the editorial claimed it went beyond the 15 days leeway that is allowed. According to the government's own data, Rs 3,630 crore worth of wages were paid after more than 15 days delay in the current year while Rs 1,010 crore was pending as unpaid wages, said the editorial blaming Modi Government.