Employment generation needs fast-tracking

With the lockdown snatching the jobs of around 270 crore people from the unorganised sector, it is imperative that the government briskly put on tracks urban employment assurance schemes to overcome socio-economic crises in the country.

Hyderabad (Telangana):The lives of innumerable toiling people were turned topsy-turvy due to the lockdowns imposed with the stated objective of containing the Coronavirus. A UN report emphasizes that around 270 crore people lost their livelihood across the globe due to the pandemic’s unexpected onslaught that suddenly changed the situation. Most of those that lost jobs are from the unorganized sector.

As a result of the lockdowns, nearly a third of the working people that were eking out a living through physical toil of some sort or the other in February last year lost their livelihood. There was no improvement in the condition of at least 20 per cent of them even by October-December, 2020. This is the bitter fact brought out by the Azim Premji University, which conducted a study on the topic in collaboration with six other organizations.

The study conducted in States like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, UP and West Bengal, reveals the severity of hopeless conditions prevailing at the ground level. A majority of BPL families could not get the required quantity of food grains during this period. As a result, there is a spate in nutrient deficiency cases among these sections. The survey reveals that 15 per cent families in rural areas and 28 per cent families in urban areas lamented that their food intake did not improve even after the lockdowns were lifted. This tragic situation calls for immediate corrective measures from the government.

Since long, there has been a demand for assured employment without any restriction on the number of job days. As a huge number of countrymen continue to suffer the flames of hunger, it is being demanded, quite justifiably, that allocations to the MNREGS and Urban employment guarantee schemes should be enhanced in the current Union budget.

Around six months ago, sensational analyses had revealed that as many as 12 crore people from urban areas and 28 crore people from rural areas slipped into poverty due to the lockdowns imposed under unavoidable circumstances. The evil impact of the Covid pandemic continues to be felt even after the lockdown was lifted. The rural employment guarantee scheme had proved to be a great support to crores of migrant workers that had returned to their villages during the lockdown period. The scheme gave succour to numerous educated persons also in rural areas. It became so popular and covered so many people that an additional Rs 40,000 crore had to be added to the Rs 61,000 crore allocated for the scheme in the last budget.

Notwithstanding the additional allocations, there are media reports indicating fund scarcity for the scheme in village panchayats. In this backdrop, Azim Premji Foundation suggested allocation of another Rs 1 lakh crore to the scheme and provision of employment for 200 days.

On the other hand, migrant labourers are slowly returning to cities as the nation’s economy began showing signs of recovery. Official data is stating that 75 per cent of the workforce in the construction sector, 86 per cent of workers in the foodservice sector and 53 per cent people in the real estate sector are unorganized labourers. While cautiously guarding their employment avenues, the government should briskly put on tracks urban employment assurance schemes to overcome socio-economic crises in the country. Such an initiative can breathe new life into crores of poor people if the selection of schemes, execution of schemes and their inspection is done flawlessly.