Skip to main content

NREGA workers: 7.35 million lost job in 2 months, unravel enhanced package, Modi told

Counterview Desk 

The civil rights organisation, NREGA Sansgharsh Morcha, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with a copy to Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar, has insisted that the Government of India should immediately begin implementing 50 days special package for each NREGA worker over and above the current provisions. as enabled by the the NREGA Master Circular 2019-20 of the Ministry Of Rural Development (MoRD).
Signed by Anuradha Talwar for the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, the letter states, this is particularly important “given the national disaster caused by the Covid-19 pandemic”, especially in view of the fact that “NREGA workers are among the most socio-economically vulnerable sections of society and have almost zero social security.”

Text:

As you are aware that almost all states are under strict lockdown and this has resulted in great economic distress among the rural communities. The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has reported an 8% unemployment rate in April as compared to 6.5% in March and that about 7.35 million people have lost employment between March and April end.
The CMIE has also reported that the rural weekly rate of unemployment for the week that ended on 13th June, was 12% which is significantly high. With business shut, jobs lost and salaries slashed, many people are pledging their household gold savings to borrow money to meet their essential expenditure as well as emergency medical requirements. According to the latest RBI data, loans against gold have jumped a whopping 82% since March 2020. At the same time, consumer expenditure has slashed for the first time in the last 40 years.
Migrant workers are again facing the maximum brunt of the state-imposed lockdowns. Millions of migrants face a shortage of food and cash and require immediate support. Many migrant workers are returning to their villages distressed and without work and millions are stranded in different parts of the country without money. This is going to result in a serious cash crunch for rural households and increased indebtedness as remittances are either reducing or being stopped completely.
The small and marginal farmers have significant dependence on wages from various rural public and private works which have also either stopped or had drastically reduced. In tribal pockets of the country, this dependence is even more due to low landholding and intergenerational land transfers. The health expenditure has also gone up contributing to further stress for poor households.
In these circumstances, NREGA is a lifeline and a potent option to stave off acute economic crises in rural areas. While last year the government had allocated additional Rs 40,000 crore to NREGA over and above the budgeted estimate to tackle the situation, this time the budgetary allocation is significantly less than last year’s actual expenditure.
Workers must get additional income opportunities through the programme to cope with their huge losses. As per the official Management Information System (MIS) for NREGA, as of June 14, more than 1.07 lakh households have already exhausted their 100 days.
Section 4.2.3 of the NREGA Master Circular 2019-20 has enabled the Ministry Of Rural Development (MoRD) to notify 50 days of additional unskilled manual work, over and above the existing provision of 100 days, for all job card holding households residing in areas hit by drought or any other natural calamity. 
The Covid-19 pandemic is a severe calamity and has caused massive disruptions in the lives of the poor and each individual is impacted by it. The current situation demands that each NREGA worker can access additional employment for at least 50 days.
Thus, considering the current pandemic situation as a national disaster, we request you to notify additional 50 days of employment for each NREGA worker across the country as a special package with enabling rules and guidelines to allow a wide range of manual work under different categories in NREGA.
As per official Management Information System for NREGA, as of June 14, more than 1.07 lakh households have already exhausted their 100 days
We would also like to draw your attention to the fact that NREGA workers are among the most socio-economically vulnerable sections of society and have almost zero social security. Given the rapid spread of coronavirus cases in rural areas, it is important to provide an additional safety net for the workers.
We have also observed that the payments of wages have been quite irregular and untimely. It is unacceptable that payments are being delayed at a time when poor households are struggling to cope with different losses due to the widespread health and economic crisis created by the pandemic.
In these circumstances we demand the following:
  1. Notify and implement a special 50 days (per person) package for NREGA over and above the existing entitlement of 100 days per household.
  2. Allocate supplementary budget for additional 50 days of employment for 29 crore workers from 15 crore job card holding families. The funds can be ensured from the government’s disaster management budget, e.g. National Disaster Relief Funds (NDRF)
  3. All members of NREGA job card holding families should be brought under the Employment State Insurance Act.
  4. The Central government should provide one-time monetary compensation for covid affected NREGA worker’s families. The compensation can be paid at the rate of notified NREGA daily wages (for the concerned state) for 30 days.
  5. The NREGA wages should be fixed at Rs. 600/day in accordance with the recommendations of the 7th pay commission and payments processes should be simplified to ensure weekly payments to the workers at the worksite itself.
We trust that you would appreciate the need for such a step at this juncture and hope that you would agree to this request.

Comments

sanu said…
It would be around 27.5 million
sanu said…
would be more

TRENDING

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu.  He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar*  “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

World Bank arm accused of hiding crucial report on Gujarat’s Tata Mundra power project

By A Representative   The Centre for Financial Accountability (CFA) has accused the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the accountability arm of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), of concealing crucial evidence related to the Tata Mundra coal power project in Gujarat during the period when the case was being heard in U.S. courts. In a press statement released on October 10, 2025, CFA said that the CAO’s final monitoring report, which was completed in 2019 but released only in September 2025, revealed that IFC had failed to take remedial action for years, even as environmental and livelihood harms to local communities worsened.

When communities lead: The story of Puttenahalli lake restoration in Bengaluru

By Alejandra Amor, Mansee Bal Bhargava  The tropical Indian ecology pushed communities to develop the art and science of rainwater collection since antiquity. Traditionally, harvesting rainwater through ponds, lakes, and wetlands formed an integral part of a holistic water system that included rivers, canals, wells, aquifers, and springs. These decentralized systems sustained irrigation, livestock, and domestic needs in rural areas, supported by generations of community water management practices embedded in both utilitarian and ritualistic values.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...