Jairam NREG poser: How many ditches will you dig?

Jairam Ramesh has pointed out inherent flaws in the UPAs flagship NREGS

Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has pointed out inherent flaws in the UPAs flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and hinted at a re-look.

In an interview to Yuvadesh,the online magazine of the Indian Youth Congress,Ramesh said: Kitna mazdoori aap karoge? Kitna gaddha khodoge? Kitne talaab ka punarnirman karoge? Kitna vriksharopan karoge? To ek seema bhi hoti hai na (How much work will you do? How many ditches will you dig? How many ponds will you rebuild? How much forestation will you do? There has to be a limit). We will have to see in one-two years whether 100 days (of work) will continue.

Ramesh conceded that merely 8 per cent of the households in the country got 100 days of employment or more.

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His remarks add weight to criticism of the NREGS as a ditch-digging scheme. Emphasising on skilled employment,Ramesh said: Hum yeh nahin manate hain ki sirf gaddha khodo,mitti nikalo. Aapne rozgar keh diya (I do not accept that you dig a ditch,take out soil and call it employment). Put the soil back into the ditch,that is also employment… We need skilled employment, he said.

However,he hailed the NREGS for raising agriculture wages,stopping distress migration and empowering people.

He even cited some views linking inflation to NREGS. …the difference is like between the sky and earth. Today,people are saying that rural India is the reason for inflation…, Ramesh said.

Nizamuddin went to the US in December 2015 for a Master’s course in Computer Science, which he completed from Florida Institute of Technology in 2017. He completed his B.Tech in ECE from Jayaprakash Narayan College of Engineering, Mahbubnagar.

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