Ranchi:On the occasion of the 20th MGNREGA Day, hundreds of MGNREGA workers, social activists, and rural families organized a workers’ mahapanchayat and rally on Friday at Namkum in the Jharkhand capital, Ranchi. The programme was held under the joint banner of the MGNREGA Bachao Morcha and NREGA Watch, with participation from various farmers’ and workers’ organizations across the state. Participants unanimously rejected VB-GRAMG and demanded the full restoration of MGNREGA.
At around 1 p.m., workers took out a rally from Namkum Chowk and marched to the old Block Office campus, where the mahapanchayat continued till 4 p.m. Hundreds of MGNREGA workers, activists, and rural families from Simdega, Khunti, West Singhbhum, Lohardaga, Latehar, Palamu, Gumla, and Ranchi districts participated in the programme. The mahapanchayat was conducted by Afzal Anis.
Addressing the gathering, James Herenz, Convenor of Jharkhand NREGA Watch, recalled that after decades of people’s struggles, Parliament unanimously passed the MGNREGA Act in 2005, which came into force on 2 February 2006. The Act guaranteed the right to work in rural India, provided employment to women, ensured wage parity, and created sustainable rural assets. He described VB-GRAMG as a policy that weakens MGNREGA.
Social activist Dayamani Barla said that in 2006 people even went to jail demanding work and job cards. As a result of those struggles, MGNREGA provided employment, wells, and mango orchards in the state. She alleged that the present central government is systematically dismantling the Act.
From Varanasi, Arvind Murti said that nearly 50 years after Independence, the right to work was recognized as a fundamental right, but the current labour-unfriendly regime has attacked rural livelihoods. “This is not just an attack on employment, but on the Constitution itself,” he said.
Siraj of the Jharkhand Janadhikar Mahasabha stated that MGNREGA was a universal and demand-driven law applicable in every rural area of the country. He said that now the central government would decide whether work would be provided in villages or not, and called for organized resistance at the village, block, and district levels.
Several MGNREGA workers shared their experiences, stating that the scheme helped educate their children, reduced migration, and ensured equal wages for men and women. Speakers expressed serious concern over delayed payments, incorrect wage disbursement, budget cuts, and the new 60:40 cost-sharing rule, which they said would severely impact poor states.
The mahapanchayat was addressed by Jharkhand Pradesh Congress President Keshav Mahato Kamlesh, senior MGNREGA activist Balram, and Shiv Kumar Rai of CITU, among others. Representatives of several social and workers’ organizations were also present.
At the end of the mahapanchayat, a resolution opposing VB-GRAMG and demanding the restoration of MGNREGA was unanimously passed. The resolution was sent to the President of India, and a signature campaign was launched to submit a memorandum to the Union Minister for Rural Development in New Delhi.
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