Narendra Modi government snubs critics of NREGS rejig

NEW DELHI: The Centre has brushed aside concerns raised by experts and activists over changes in the job guarantee scheme, saying reforms are needed to save MGNREGA from becoming another government dole while accusing the UPA regime of exploiting it for partisan purposes.

"The tendencies of acquiring easy money and using government funds for political party promotion could be curbed only when a spirited team of genuine and unbiased individuals is asked to look into the question of reforming MGNREGA," the rural development ministry said in a statement.

The jibe comes in the wake of vociferous opposition from civil society against changing of "material to wage" ratio in the job scheme from 40:60 to 49:51 and the debate within the ministry to restrict job scheme to only the backward blocks.

To buttress its charge of political motives, the ministry has attached a study showing the purported link between MGNREGA and voting pattern in favour of Congress.

The ministry led by Nitin Gadkari advocated the scheme's review by individuals who have never been associated with rural development ministry. "Unless an extremely likely network of interests is broken, the real picture will not emerge," it said.

Targeting the UPA, it added that critical reports and studies on the scheme were never included in rural development ministry's discussions. "Excerpts of CAG reports and critical studies, including those done during the UPA regime ... rarely find mention in MoRD documents," the ministry said.

The ministry, quoting a study, said the scheme, despite rampant corruption, continues to be presented as a success because of the "solid network of vested interests involving political party functionaries, government officials, NGOs, research institutes and experts desirous of milking the scheme to their advantage".