Sonia Gandhi voices concern over MGNREGA budget cut, Centre hits back
New Delhi(PTI): Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday voiced concern over the budgetary cut for MGNREGA, contending that several states have negative balance in their accounts to the tune of Rs 5000 crore which has led to delays in payments to workers.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Gandhi urged the government to make adequate allocations to MGNREGA, a scheme that had helped the government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and ensure payments within 15 days.
Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh and I&B Minister Anurag Thakur hit back at Gandhi, accusing her of politicising the issue and claimed that her remarks were far from truth .
The issue raised by the honourable member is far from the truth. The budgetary allocation for MGNREGA in 2013-14 (UPA years) was Rs 33,000 crore, whereas under Prime Minister Narendra Modi it had reached Rs 1.12 lakh crore. No need to show us the mirror, Singh said.
Gandhi said MGNREGA, which was mocked by some persons, had provided timely help to crores of affected poor families during the pandemic and played a positive role in helping the government.
Still there is regular reduction in the budgetary allocation for MGNREGA. This year the budget for MGNREGA is 35 per cent less than that of 2020. This comes at a time when unemployment is rising continuously, she said.
Gandhi said the budgetary cuts were weakening the legal guarantee of timely payment and employment. She noted that the Supreme Court had likened the delay in MGNREGA payments with forced labour.
Gandhi said the states were told that their annual labour budget will not be approved unless they meet conditions related to social audit and appointment of Lokpal.
Social audit should be made effective but workers can't be punished by stopping the money for this, she said.
I request the Central government to allocate adequate funds for MGNREGA, ensure payment of workers within 15 days of work, and pay compensation in case of delay in payment of wages, Gandhi said.
Responding to Gandhi, Thakur alleged that the MGNREGA scheme saw massive corruption under the UPA government, which was weeded out by the Modi government.
He said under Prime Minister Modi, geo-tagging of assets created under MGNREGA was introduced and payments were directly made to workers in their Jan Dhan accounts.
Congress members were up on their feet protesting the remarks targeting the UPA made by Singh and Thakur.
As the commotion continued, Thakur said it was ironic for the opposition to criticise when a union minister had responded immediately to an issue raised by Gandhi.
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TN seeks duty-free cotton imports to support textile sector: CM Vijay writes to PM
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove the import duty on cotton.
In his first letter to Modi after taking over as chief minister of the state, he said Tamil Nadu is the country’s largest textile and apparel exporting state.
Lakhs of people are dependent on this sector for both direct and indirect employment, especially women from rural and semi-urban backgrounds, Vijay pointed out.
Stating that the industry is facing a severe crisis due to an increase in cotton prices and consequently yarn prices, he said, “I understand this is caused primarily due to a shortage in cotton production and increased trading activity in the country.”
Pointing out that the price of cotton has increased from Rs 54,700 to Rs 67,700 per candy—an increase of 25 per cent over the last two months—while yarn prices have increased from Rs 301 to Rs 330 per kg, he said, “In this situation, the continued supply of raw material can be ensured only through imports.”
However, there is an import duty of 11 per cent on cotton, he said, adding that in such a situation, permitting duty-free cotton imports will help the industry meet increasing export commitments and remain globally competitive.
Vijay said that after agriculture, the textile and apparel sector is one of the largest employment-generating sectors.
“There is a significant responsibility on the government to safeguard the employment of lakhs of people and ensure the sustainability of the textile value chain," he said.
“Hence, I request your intervention to remove the import duty on cotton from the existing 11 per cent to 0 per cent to ensure the availability of raw material. This measure will enable the textile and apparel industry to remain globally competitive, enhance exports, and protect jobs,” he added.
