Speech of Dr. Manmohan Singh on the 10th Anniversary of the launch of MGNREGA at Bandlapalli, Andhra Pradesh - 02 February, 2016
As you are aware, on 2nd February 2006, Congress President Shrimati Sonia Gandhi and myself had launched MGNREGA from Bandlapalli in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee is organising a Public Meeting in Bandlapalli, Anantapur to celebrate 10 years of MGNREGA on 2nd February, 2016 . Shri Rahul Gandhi will address the meeting.
Shri Raghuveera Reddy, President, APCC has very kindly invited me to attend the meeting.
When Parliament was debating the issue of formation of Telangana, I, as the then Prime Minister had assured the people of Andhra Pradesh that Government will grant Andhra Pradesh the Special Category Status. Unfortunately, UPA lost election in 2014 and the BJP Government now in power in Delhi has refused to honour the solemn commitment I had made as Prime Minister to grant special category status to Andhra.
Removal of Poverty has been the Prime concern of Congress Party. Much has been done but a lot remains to be done. MGNREGA has special role in helping the poor and downtrodden to earn a living in an honourable way. The UPA Government had launched MGNREGA in 2006. Initially covering 200 districts in 27 States to provide guaranteed employment to rural households for 100 days. In 2008, the coverage of the scheme was extended to all the districts of the country. In the following 6 years, an amount of Rupees Two Lakh Crores was allocated under MGNREGA and the Scheme now benefits 34.30 crore poor households providing them with employment.
The National Common Minimum Programme of UPA had promised to bring in an Act for guaranteeing rural employment. We also provided to launch a National Food for Work Programme . We redeemed both these programmes. I must thank Sonia ji for her untiring leadership in ensuring that this Act was passed by Parliament . Her deep commitment made it possible for us to fulfil our sacred promise to our people.
The Employment Guarantee Act is the most significant legislation of our times in many ways. For the first time, rural communities have been given not just a development programme but a regime of rights. This Act has unlocked the potential of the rural poor to contribute to the reconstruction of their environment. By doing this, it can accelerate the growth of the rural economy. The MGNREGA gives employment, gives income, gives a livelihood and it gives the poor a chance to live a life of self-respect and dignity. In particular, MGNERGA helps scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, women and small and marginal farmers.
The implementation of MGNREGA provides an opportunity to strengthen democratic process. Panchayati Raj institutions have a key role under the Act Gram Sabhas, self-help groups, local monitoring committees, beneficiary groups and other forms of Community Organisations are the basic agencies which have to run and monitor the programme. This represents an enormous step towards the empowerment of vulnerable sections of society. They have to turn to actively participate in the democratic institutions at the grass roots and acquire a greater role in decision making and control over resources. Such empowerment is the essence of rural development.
MGNREGA has a clear focus on the poorest of the poor. It seeks to reach out to those in need for livelihood security. It comes to the aid of those who may be under pressure to migrate in search of livelihood. It helps us to empower the poor to fight poverty, disease and indebtedness. MGNREGA is a unique social security system. It confers upon groups the right to demand work when they need it. This is especially made for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, for poor women, who are the worst sufferers of social inequality.
MGNREGA is the gift of UPA to our people to assist them to fight poverty, ignorance and disease. UPA is not in power now. It is up to the people to defend this revolutionary programme. The Gram Sabha has the power to undertake social audit of MGNREGA. It must also play an active part in preparing plans at the village level to make effective use of MGNREGA. They must ensure that our plans create works that build new facilities for our villages – like schools, roads and other facilities.
Despite the enormous potential of MGNREGA as a social security programme, Prime Minister Modi does not like it. He has called MGNREGA as an epitome of Congress failure "a living proof of 60 years of Congress misrule". The Modi Government seeks to kill the soul and spirit of MGNREGA by withholding payments to States for MGNREGA works. In 2014-15 alone, Government of India did not make payment of Rs.6000 crores to States for already executed MGNREGA works.
It is upto the people to mobilise their sources in support of the effectiveness of MGNREGA to convince the Modi Government to desist from the negative path of eroding the effectiveness of MGNREGA as an instrument of people centered development.
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