By Bhogtoram Mawroh
Recently on being asked what support the Government of Meghalaya is planning for those whose livelihoods are being disrupted by the lockdown, Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong expressed the Government’s helplessness and suggested that to tide over their difficulties people should eat rice and vegetables instead of meat. This bizarre statement reminded me of a passage from a book in which a former politician from Meghalaya stated that people in Shillong are happy with Bandhs as they can avoid going to office. The inference was that everyone in Shillong has a salaried job. Obviously this particular individual who lived a sheltered life surrounded by his cohorts was unaware that many in the city earn their livelihood by working as daily wage labourers or are self-employed. This is true of India as well where more than 90% of the workforce is found in the informal sector. So when this former politician was talking about Bandhs being beneficial he was talking about his kith and kin who are among the privileged members of the society.
In the same vein, the statement by the Deputy Chief Minister appears delusional and a callous attempt to abdicate his responsibility. According to him, because people in Meghalaya like eating meat, they need to make that sacrifice for the larger good. By this logic does it mean that in states where people are eating vegetables they should instead eat gravel? Maybe I am being too harsh. The stress of dealing with this extraordinary crisis must have unnerved him and he inadvertently made that foolish statement. Another statement that he made was regarding the Government’s inability to provide income support for the citizens affected by the lockdowns and restrictions. I think this also is borne out of frustration and does not really reflect his/government’s real intention. After all, I don’t think he and his fellow legislators are going to forgo their salaries and benefits as it would be hypocritical for them to enjoy the taxpayers’ money while the public is suffering. Hence, assuming that the Government is indeed looking to help those whose livelihoods are badly affected there are some points which must be kept in mind while designing any such intervention.
Complete lockdown has been declared in many parts of the State. With vaccination going slowly and a third wave being predicted, restrictions are going to persist for a long time. Income support, therefore, becomes very vital. Last year the Government initiated a weekly income support of ₹ 1000 which was a very good idea. However the figure was on the lower side. Assuming ₹ 300 (a figure still lower than minimum wage of ₹ 324 as prescribed by the Government of Meghalaya for unskilled labour with skilled labour getting higher rates) as the daily wage and multiplying it into 5 days gives an amount of ₹ 1500. CPI (Communist Party of India) had demanded that the income support should be raised to ₹ 2000 which is also a good amount. The Government could look at these two figures and arrive at a figure which they feel is justified for providing income support.
This time around, the second wave is different from the first wave in that Covid-19 has been able to penetrate the rural parts of the country where cases are increasing at an alarming rate. This bodes badly not just for the health of the rural community but also for the economy as a whole as well. Last year, the lockdown and economic disruptions led to an overall negative growth in the country’s GDP. India’s GDP contracted by 23.9% in the first quarter of the FY 2020-2021 because of the lockdowns which exacerbated the already declining consumer demand and investment. But even at such a bleak time growth in agriculture was positive, the only sector to do so. The farm sector grew at 3.4% year-on-year in the quarter. It will not be an exaggeration to state that it is the farmers who saved the Indian economy and the country.
Understandably the Central Government made provisions to help the farming community. There was an increase in MGNREGA wages which was also quite welcome. However the increase of ₹ 20 considering ₹ 1000 per week as the income support (given last year), make up only for a loss of two weeks and is inadequate. Till date there has been no announcement of any hike in MGNREGA wages. To be fair to the Central Government, over ₹ 19,000 crore was recently transferred to more than 9.5 crore farmers under the PM-KISAN scheme. Unfortunately less than 9000 farmers from Meghalaya benefitted from the scheme. According to the 2011 Census, the total number of people engaged in agriculture is 5,25,912 or over 5 lakhs. The number of PM-KISAN beneficiaries is thus only 1.7%. What is important to remember is that we are in 2021 which means that the numbers must have increased from the 2011 level. The actual percentage could therefore be less than 1% which is really distressing.
The Government of Meghalaya therefore, apart from looking to ensure that more beneficiaries get the income support, can take the lead in petitioning the Central Government to increase the wages for MGNREGA considering that many more disruptions are guaranteed over the next few months. The second wave is predicted to end by July which is still two months away. After which the third wave has been confirmed to arrive in the next six months. Because of all this, disruptions to livelihoods are going to continue. Therefore the hike in MGNREGA wages is very crucial.
At the same time it is important to remember that people in rural areas do not work in a single activity for the entire year but are engaged in multiple activities to make ends meet. This is especially true of those who are registered under MGNREGA which is a seasonal employment scheme. They work in MGNREGA for a period of 100 days and then do daily wage labour in other projects for the remaining 256 days. This is the planting season where a lot of such workers would have been engaged in working in other people’s farms. With the lockdown and other disruptions that source of income is not available anymore. So even if they were to get the MGNREGA wages they would still be losing wages. The loss of non-MGNREGA wages for those who will be getting only MGNREGA wages and for those who will not get any wage loss compensation at all will have the effect of increasing indebtedness especially among the rural populace. If the amount of compensation is inadequate whatever amount the community gets will be used for paying past debts. But since there will be massive wage losses for this period, the current debt will increase exponentially. This will further weaken their situation and make the community more vulnerable to future shocks. And if this lockdown continues, even with intermittent relaxations, the hardship of the community will only intensify.
In the long term the community will become more marginalised. Therefore a comprehensive income support program is the need of the hour. Since the response from the Central Government might be delayed considering the situation in the country the State Government has to take this responsibility on their own. Already suggestions have come about how that can be achieved.
Thma U Rangli Juki (TUR) and Workers Power of Meghalaya have demanded that the State Government consolidate the MLA-LAD (MLA Local Area Development Scheme) and MPLAD (MP Local Area Development Scheme) schemes to help mitigate the Covid-19 crisis in the State. They demanded that ₹ 2 crore sanctioned to MLAs to implement various schemes each year should immediately be consolidated into a single fund of ₹ 120 crores and cash transfer/income support should be initiated for the families, daily wage workers, domestic workers, taxi drivers, shop assistants, street vendors and marginal farmers. They also demanded that 25% salary of Class One Officers including central services officers and tax refund for IAS and IPS officers should also be utilized to take care of the out of pocket expense of the citizens of the state. These are very practical suggestions and would do a great deal in easing the suffering of the people during such a difficult time. I am sure the MPS, MLAs and the IAS and IPS officers will be eager to lend their support for such a move. It will bring relief to countless people in the State especially those from the weaker socio-economic categories.
Finally, whatever the Government decides to do at this critical moment will not be forgotten by the people. I pray and hope that they feel the pain of the citizens and make the right decisions.
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