Govt renames NREGA after Mahatma Gandhi

UPA was facing criticism from some states that the various schemes launched by it were for political advantage

The government today renamed its flagship rural job guarantee programme — National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) — after Mahatma Gandhi even as former minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said the country had failed to implement the panchayati raj system of Gandhi’s dreams.

At a function in Delhi to observe the 50th anniversary of the launching of panchayati raj, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the rechristening of NREGA after the ‘father of the nation’ following criticism by some states that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was seeking to launch programmes and take the credit, using public money to get political advantage.

“The Union Cabinet has decided to rechristen NREGA as Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a gathering of heads of villages, adding the scheme had been aptly named after the father of the nation as he had always held the concept of ‘Gram Swaraj’ in high esteem.

“Several states have still not provided adequate funds, functions and functionaries to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). This system needs to be changed,” Singh said in the presence of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

He conceded that India was still to see the full rollout of the concept that was spelt out by Mahatma Gandhi as part of the struggle for independence.

“The 73rd amendment of the constitution provides that state legislatures should empower PRIs as the institutions of local self government and strengthen them so that they can evolve schemes for social justice and economic development,” Singh said. “But these legal provisions have not been used effectively in our country till date,” the PM maintained while announcing that 2009-10 would be observed as the year of ‘Gram Sabha’ (village councils).

“Even today in many states, the functions, funds and functionaries have not been delegated effectively to the panchayati raj institutions. We need to reform the system.”

In Jaipur, Aiyar said the country had failed to successfully implement the panchayati raj system and its benefits had not reached the poor.

Aiyar added there was a need to amend the Panchayati Raj Bill to realise the dream of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and to eradicate corruption from the country.

“The poor people have failed to get the benefits of the economic reforms of 1991 due to corruption...instead, rich people are being benefited and the gap between poor and rich is widening,” Aiyar said.

Recalling Mahatama Gandhi’s dream to establish 600,000 rural republic unions in the country to strengthen the panchayati raj system for the welfare and development of the villagers, Aiyar lamented that the Centre continued to call the shots in such decisions, preventing decentralisation of the authority.