Punjab's Finance Minister, Harpal Singh Cheema, launched a sharp critique against the central government on Wednesday, accusing it of misleading the public regarding a major overhaul of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He framed the changes as part of an "anti-poor agenda" and pointed to unpaid dues exceeding Rs 23,000 crore as proof of the government's true intentions.
Unpaid Dues Expose Reality of 'Reforms'
Cheema asserted that while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government promotes a narrative of reforming the flagship rural job scheme, the reality is starkly different. He revealed that the Centre is withholding massive pending liabilities totalling over Rs 23,000 crore. This colossal sum includes Rs 12,219 crore in unpaid wages for labourers and another Rs 11,227 crore owed to Panchayats for material costs related to rural development projects already completed.
The minister argued that these unpaid funds have crippled the rural economy over the past three years. He further highlighted that despite budgetary allocations for the 2025-26 fiscal year, nearly 27 percent of the funds remained undisbursed. This financial stranglehold, Cheema warned, is pushing millions of vulnerable families towards starvation and despair, directly contradicting the scheme's objective of providing a social safety net.
Structural Changes 'Liquidate' Employment Guarantee
Cheema reserved his strongest criticism for the structural changes introduced in the MGNREGA framework. He explained that by shifting 40% of the financial burden onto state governments and making central approval mandatory for project proposals, the Centre has effectively hollowed out the scheme's rights-based architecture.
"By replacing MGNREGA with the new framework, the Centre has effectively liquidated the employment guarantee," Cheema stated. He emphasized that this move not only undermines the assurance of work but also weakens India's federal framework by centralizing control and imposing unsustainable fiscal demands on states.
Refuting BJP's Justification, Questioning Congress Silence
The Punjab minister also challenged the BJP's justification for the overhaul. He accused the party's leadership of falsely citing the 'Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj 2024-25' to validate its actions. Cheema clarified that the committee, chaired by Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, never recommended renaming the scheme on religious lines or introducing the restrictive changes now being implemented.
"Instead, the committee's primary recommendation was the immediate release of pending funds," he pointed out. Finally, Cheema turned his attention to the opposition, questioning the silence of the Congress party. He noted that while the Punjab government became the first in India to pass a formal resolution in the Vidhan Sabha condemning these policies, Congress-led states have remained conspicuously quiet on the issue.
