Ahead of the Budget, eminent citizens across the country have written an open letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley requesting him to accord “highest priority” to the rural job guarantee scheme, MGNREGA, and allocate additional ₹5,000 crore to the Ministry of Rural Development.

“Subsequent Budget estimations and allocations to the programme must be brought in line with inflation; be measured and maintained as a percentage of share of GDP and fundamentally operate through a ‘demand pull’ system as required by the law,” said the letter, written by about 100 academicians, economists, editors, social activists and artists such as Girish Karnad, EAS Sarma, Aruna Roy, Jean Dreze, Romila Thapar, Wajahat Habibullah, N Ram, Kuldip Nayar, Biraj Patnaik and Ashok Bharti, among others.

Terming the trend of “meagre and slashed Budget allocations” for the social sector, such as Right to Education and schemes for child nutrition, as a “national shame”, the letter, submitted to the Jaitley and Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian ahead of the pre-Budget consultations, pointed out that “timely release of funds this year so far has led to some improvement in the demand for work generated over last year, and in making timely wage payments.”

The letter, however, said that since funds had dried up, “the crisis of the last few years threatens to be repeated” and could multiply the ongoing rural distress, adding that even the Minister of Rural Development had conveyed to the Finance Ministry on December 31, that “95 per cent of the current releases from the Finance Ministry have been exhausted.”

Economist Dreze said “open ended funding to MGNREGA is the acid test for the Central government and without it, work on demand is impossible.”

Terming the government’s “claim on of shortage of funds”, as “hollow”, the letter said it was “intriguing that the Central government that denies resources for fulfil the basic needs of the majority of the population can easily find over ₹1,00,000 crore additional resources 2016-17 onward to meet the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission that benefit employees and retirees who are less than 1 per cent of the population.”

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