Govt trying to dilute MNREGA: Oppn in LS

Opposition members in Lok Sabha today accused the government of trying to "dilute" rural job scheme MNREGA and said such a move will have adverse impact on lives of millions of poor in the country.
Participating in a debate under Rule 193 which does not entails voting, Abhishek Banerjee (TMC) accused the Narendra Modi government of working against the interest of the poor and said "it is heartless, actionless and visionless".
He said dilution of MNREGA will affect the poor.
Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo (BJD) said it was wrong to blame MNREGA for rising agriculture wages in rural areas.
The government, he said, should not "squeeze the scheme" by withholding funds meant for payment towards employment guarantee scheme.

Jayadev Guella (TDP) said MNREGA should be modified to create durable assets.

He said the scheme could be effectively used to bridge the gap between unemployment and making people employable.
M Rajamohan Reddy (YSR Congress) said the Act enacted during the first UPA regime should not be "diluted".
Instead, he said, the government should take steps to solve problems in implementing the programme including corruption.
Reddy said that united Andhra Pradesh under late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhar Reddy had effectively implemented the scheme and a lot of poor people had benefitted.
Referring to the natural calamities like cyclone happening in coastal states, Reddy said rebuilding of infrastructure should be brought under MNREGA.

Prahlad Patel (BJP) said the House should debate whether the "huge amount" spent for the implementation of the scheme has been effectively utilised or not.
The debate remained inconclusive.