Petition
to the Prime Minister
An online petition has been created by Jayati Ghosh, Smita
Gupta and Vikas Rawal of Jawaharlal Nehru University demanding the the
immediate adoption of Employment Guarantee Act. The text of petition is
given below. To sign the petition please go to petition
online
To: Dr. Manmohan Singh, The Hon'ble Prime Minister
of India
Dear
sir,
We are extremely concerned by the crisis of livelihoods in large parts
of rural India. We therefore appeal to the central government to take
expeditious steps to pass an Employment Guarantee Act immediately, as
promised by the National Common Minimum Programme, and to ensure the requisite
devolution of funds to state governments.
As you know, in recent years employment growth in the countryside has
slowed down dramatically. Per capita agricultural output has been declining,
farm incomes are falling and many indicators of per capita consumption,
including calorie consumption, are also falling. Rural indebtedness has
been growing, and this had led not only to increasing land alienation
by the small and middle peasantry, but also to extreme distress leading
to widespread suicides among farmers. There are reports of severe malnutrition
and even starvation deaths from all over the country.
In this context, guaranteed employment is absolutely crucial to ensure
some economic security among the rural poor. In addition, of course, there
would be strong multiplier effects of such employment, which would therefore
have a positive effect upon rural livelihoods which would be much larger
than the actual expenditure. Aside from protecting the rural population
from hunger and destitution, an Employment Guarantee Act would also contribute
to many other social objectives, including the creation of durable assets,
the protection of the environment, the empowerment of women, and the slowdown
of rural-urban migration.
Thus, an Employment Guarantee Act is urgently required, along with the
devolution of requisite finances to the state governments. We urge the
central government to take immediate steps to ensure rural employment
guarantee in the entire country without restricting the region or persons
to be covered by it. A failure to do this could result in further suicides
and starvation deaths all over rural India. It would also undermine the
credibility of the present government.
Sincerely,
The
Undersigned
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