A lifeline, interrupted

Government is prioritising savings over MGNREGA and rights of the poor.

Written by Nikhil Dey , Aruna Roy | Published: December 5, 2017 12:54 am

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There are prominent ways in which it is evident that the government is prioritising saving at the cost of its poorest people — a breach of the law and the Constitution.

Rambeti from Sitapur, Uttar Pradesh, graphically described the predicament of MGNREGA workers like her in a recent press conference in Delhi. “The government repeatedly states that it will not let us die of starvation. But the truth is, it does not allow us to live either.” That is a terrible evaluation of MGNREGA — a landmark legislation enacted to protect the right to life, dignity of labour and build permanent assets for the rural poor.