Jobs guarantee Bill may be tabled today

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), which, guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household, will soon see the light of day, with the government tying up the loose ends of the Bill with the Left parties on Monday.

The Bill is likely to be introduced for consideration and passing in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, and 80 members are set to speak on the Bill, including United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

During a 90-minute meeting with the Left parties today, the government accepted several new suggestions made by them to provide, what they termed, 'greater flexibility and more inclusion' in the scheme for all sections of society. These new suggestions will be brought in the form of government amendments to the bill, Left sources said.

The suggestions made by the Left today and accepted by the government include a provision that the government would lodge a portion of the amount in a special fund known as the Employment Guarantee Fund.

This amount allotted to a state for implementation of NREGS will be provided in the first two months of the financial year.

'This amount of Rs 6,000- 7,000 crore can then be used by the state government in planning the disbursal of work and wages,' said a source in the CPM.

He added that if the Central Government failed to hand over the money to the state government, the former would be responsible for the delays in the working of the scheme and would have to fully compensate the state.

Another suggestion made by the Left relates to reserving one third jobs for women on the household list. 'That is, if 300 hundred people have been given jobs in an area then 100 of them should be women since there are a large number of women labourers in rural areas,' said a Left MP.

The third suggestion made by the Left relates to the 'list of work' notified under the NREGS.

The Left has asked that for the addition of a new item under the list of work, the state governments also be consulted as they would have a better understanding of the people's needs in a particular region.

The Left has further asked that asset creation through the NREGS not only be restricted to government land but also include the ' wastage' land given to the poor people, who might or might not have a 'patta' for the same.

The meeting between the Left and the Government was chaired by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and was attended by West Bengal Finance Minister Ashim Dasgupta, in addition to other Left MPs from the four Left parties.

The bill has already incorporated amendments after taking into consideration the recommendations made by the group of ministers (gom), standing committee of Parliament and National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi.

While 150 districts had been identified for launching the scheme, 50 more districts would soon be identified by the Planning Commission for the purpose. Panchayati Raj institutions will play an important role in selection and sanction of schemes through another amendment.

The amendments also seek to ensure that the guarantee once applicable is not withdrawn at government direction.