At least 1.4 lakh poor rural households have already completed their quota of 100 days of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the first three months of the year, and will not be eligible for further benefits under the scheme for the rest of the year. Another seven lakh households have completed 80 days and are on the verge of running out of work as well, according to the scheme’s database. With COVID19 pandemic and the lockdown resulting in thousands of unemployed migrant workers returning to their villages and now dependent on MGNREGA wages, activists are urging the government to increase the limit to at least 200 days per household. “This is an unprecedented situation where many are clearly desperate for work and dependent on MGNREGA wages. In many areas, monsoon is the hungry season. If you stop providing work at this time, it will be a huge crisis for these families,” said Nikhil Dey, a Rajasthanbased activist with the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan. The MGNREGA scheme contains a provision for districts affected by drought or other natural disasters to request an expansion of the scheme to allow for 150 days of work per household. Given that COVID19 was declared a national disaster, activists have demanded that this provision be implemented immediately. Overall, 23 lakh households have already completed 60 days of work.
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