Draughty bill
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill tabled in Parliament last month has drawn scathing criticism from the National Advisory Council (nac) that had put together its draft. nac says the rural development ministry has dropped many of the former's recommendations (see box: Serious rift). "Politicians are responsible for the liquidation of nac provisions,' remarks Aruna Roy, member, nac . Says Jean Dreze, another nac member, "The nac draft has been extensively revised from the point of view of a bureaucrat anxious to minimise the responsibility of the state.'
The bill is a major poll promise of the Congress party and figures in the common minimum programme (cmp) of the ruling United Progressive Alliance. Significantly, Congress President Sonia Gandhi heads nac . Says Annie Raya, an activist who led a huge banner campaign for right to work just outside the Parliament on December 21, the day the bill was tabled, "After liquidation of the provisions, the legitimacy of nac is being questioned.' During the nac meeting on January 8, the bill was not even discussed. "We don't have any expectation but only a hope for the bill,' says Roy.
nac sent a draft of the bill to the government in November 2004, which asked the Planning Commission (pc) and the Union ministry of finance to examine the viability of guaranteeing rural employment. "It appears the main spanner in the works was put by the finance ministry, although it is possible there was less than desired support from the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission as well,' says Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi.
While the draft recommended rural employment guarantee cover the entire country over five years, the bill omits mention of the time frame completely. The bill guarantees 100 days of employment to every rural household but doesn't say when or where this will apply. Says Ghosh, "This can allow for indefinite postponement of the extension to the entire country.'
Similarly, whereas the draft talked of a minimum wage (Rs 66 per day), the bill says, "Notwithstanding anything contained in the Minimum Wages Act 1948, the Central Government may fix the rate at which wages shall be paid to the labourers employed under the (Employment) Programme.' Though cmp mentions a centrally funded scheme, pc and the finance ministry have repeatedly tried to pass on the burden to the states.
Experts believe only 1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (gdp) will be enough to fund the scheme. Public social spending in India is barely 6 per cent of gdp, compared with 17 per cent in the us and 26 per cent in Britain
Another point of criticism is the inclusion of the word