Bengaluru: The state cabinet Thursday decided to challenge the Centre’s move to repeal the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and replace it with The Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Grameen (VB-G RAM G) Act, resolving to take legal recourse and launch a statewide rally to protest the new law. HK Patil, law and parliamentary affairs minister, said the govt will consult advocate general K Shashi Kiran Shetty and decide soon whether to file a petition in the high court or Supreme Court. “Since the decision to repeal MGNREGA infringes on people’s right to work, we will wage a legal battle against it. We will also take it to the people’s court,” Patil said, adding Karnataka may approach other states and appeal to them to join the legal challenge. He said the new law curtails powers of panchayat bodies to provide employment and alleged the Centre violated federal spirit by increasing states’ contribution from 10% to 40% without consultation. He said it would have serious financial implications. “The VB-G RAM G Act is a serious aberration of social and economic rights of rural people, as on one hand the works will only be available in the areas as notified by central govt and on other hand at the wage rate fixed by Centre without any guarantee to the minimum wages fixed by the state govts,” the cabinet resolution states. It says VB-G RAM G Act excluded states from consultations and that it defeated the spirit of ‘Gram Swaraj’. Patil said panchayat bodies were able to create assets under MGNREGA, while the new law, which he called “draconian”, empowered private contractors to assign work to rural people, including national highway projects. “The number of days of work has increased from 100 days to 125 days under the new law, but it is not guaranteed since the Centre will decide where and when work should be done. The Centre has completely ignored the wellbeing of rural people,” Patil said. Responding to a question on delayed panchayat elections, Patil said steps were being taken to hold polls at the earliest and that a decision on moving the Supreme Court would be taken within a couple of days.
