PIL in SC seeks payment of wages to MNREGA households for entire duration of lockdown

Activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey have moved the Supreme Court seeking direction for the Government to pay full wages to the registered MNREGA households for the entire duration of the lockdown in place to curb the spread of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), reports legal news website BarandBench.com.

The petition, preferred through advocate Prashant Bhushan, also prays for direction to the government to issue individual temporary job cards within 15 days to all migrants who have returned from the cities to their native villages.

In view of the pandemic and the lockdown, it further prayed for directions to the government to draw up interim guidelines or an amended scheme so as to deal with the crisis after lifting the lockdown in a sustainable manner.

Further, the entitlement for the registered households under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme should be extended from existing 100 days to 200 days, the petitioner has prayed.

There are over 7.6 crore active job card holders under MNREGA scheme and the present PIL has been filed seeking to protect the fundamental rights of these persons. The petitioner seeks to protect the right of the card holders under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, says the report published by BarandBench.com

It has been contended that despite the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs as regards the nation-wide lockdown implemented March 25 onwards, the Ministry of Rural Development has directed State Governments to continue MNREGA work wherever possible. This puts the lives of the workers at risk, the PIL states and elucidates that social/physical distancing is not possible given the nature of work performed by the workers under this scheme. This is in violation of their Article 14 rights, it asserted.

"Covid-19 is now present in almost all districts of the country which is a serious health hazard for these vulnerable citizens particularly because the number of persons seeking work is bound to increase as many persons otherwise employed in other sectors are desperate for work/wages,"says the PIL.

Further, it is submitted that the workers' livelihood is also at risk given that during the lockdown, only essential services are permitted to function and the work under MNREGA scheme is not listed as one of the essential services.

As noted in the petition, "despite an increased demand and need for work, it is in fact not possible to keep any MNREGA work open under lockdown conditions. Transport is available only for essential services and the police have been instructed to prevent any movement and congregation of any person associated with an activity not listed as an essential service. MNREGA has not been listed as an essential service."

The petition pointed out that such a direction would be in line with the direction issued by the Labour Ministry on March 20, which stated that all employees should be deemed to be on duty even if they are absent in light of the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and as such be paid full wages.

This petition is expected to come up for hearing before the Supreme Court in the week commencing on April 6.