Various disability rights activists and associations from across the country urged the Centre to withdraw the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G RAM G) Bill on Tuesday.
According to a press release, they stated that any dilution of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) will translate into further loss of livelihood for disabled rural workers, forcing them into deeper poverty and dependency on disability pensions which are woefully inadequate.
“The MGNREGA, despite limitations, legally recognises persons with disabilities as workers entitled to employment, work according to ability, and livelihood protection. The proposed VB-G RAM G Bill dilutes this right, legitimises exclusion, and threatens the livelihoods, dignity, and survival of disabled rural workers,” the release added.
Disability associations and activists including National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), Vikalangalu Hakkulu Jatiya Vedike, Telangana, Tamilnadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers and Nitesh Kumar Tripathi had called for the Bill’s withdrawal.
Pointing out that the Bill will provide 125 days of work is entirely misleading, NPRD said that the proposal to prohibit employment in the vaguely defined ‘agricultural peak seasons’ can be extended across Kharif and Rabi sowing and harvesting periods. This would mean denying work for most of the year, the release added.
