Batting for bringing flexibility in UPA’s flagship NREGA, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday said the scheme has failed to achieve the three objectives of wage employment, creating community assets and empowering gram panchayats at the same time in any State.
Stating that all jobs cannot be provided in areas where the youths want them, he called for encouraging migration across all States and noted with concern the “discrimination” in housing suffered by youths from Jammu & Kashmir who are employed outside the State.
He said there was a need to put in place a policy that removes discrimination against migrants and said some “trade-offs” have to be made in the future programme.
“There are three objectives of NREGA. First to provide wage employment, second is to create durable community assets and third to empower gram panchayats. In states where NREGA has been successful, only two out of the three objectives have been fulfilled. In no States, all three objectives have been fulfilled,” the Rural Development Minister said. He was speaking at an event to unveil the Indian labour and Employment Report -2014.