nThe BJP in Chhattisgarh has demanded that the number of workdays under MGNREGA should be hiked from 100 to 150 days in view of the scarcity of livelihood options for the rural population during the ongoing crisis triggered by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Congress government should come to the help of labourers who do not have any other option of getting employment in the prevailing circumstances, the party said.
Leader of Opposition Dharamlal Kaushik on Thursday wrote a letter to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, seeking an increase in the number of workdays under the rural job scheme.
The state government should immediately take a decision to increase workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the interests of rural households, Kaushik said.
The rural employment guarantee scheme promises 100 days of work every year to rural households.
Several labourers in the state have completed their 100 days of employment but now they are jobless and facing economic crisis, he said.
During the previous BJP government in the state, 50 days of additional employment were provided under the scheme.
Kaushik demanded that the Chhattisgarh government provide the additional 50 days of employment through its own resources.
Baghel had earlier this month urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to double the 100 days of employment fixed under MGNREGA.
