Dear Dr. Sinha,
Dear sir: Kindly refer to the mail below sent by Nikhil Dey, Jean Dreze, Abhay Kumar, Aruna Roy, myself and others to Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development today regarding your statements in the press on linking NREGA with UID.
Thanking you,
Reetika
UID Infiltration of NREGA
We are alarmed by recent media reports stating that UID is to become a compulsory requirement for NREGA benefits in Mysore – presumably as a prelude to similar moves elsewhere. This is unfair, illegal, and dangerous.
The dangers of a hasty imposition of UID on NREGA were spelt out in an earlier petition, endorsed by hundreds of signatories many of whom have considerable knowledge of how NREGA works on the ground (copy enclosed). The concerns raised in that petition have not been answered. Meanwhile, NREGA workers are facing enormous hardships (including long delays in wage payments) associated with the transition to bank payments of wages. This transition, helpful as it may be to curb corruption, must be completed and consolidated before any further disruptions are initiated.
NREGA work is a universal entitlement, subject to broad eligibility criteria clearly spelt out in the law. These criteria cannot be modified arbitrarily, outside the framework of the law. Innocuous as it may seem, restricting eligibility to UID holders would create a dangerous precedent, aside from being objectionable in itself.
It is also disturbing to read from the same reports that the main purpose of this move is not to provide a facility to NREGA workers, but to facilitate the completion of UID enrolment. Making UID compulsory for NREGA workers before UID registration is complete amounts to putting the cart before the bullock.
As and when UID registration becomes universal without compulsion, and the required infrastructure is developed, UID may have useful applications in the context of NREGA. But it would be very unwise to pretend that this distant stage has already been reached.
We urge you to ensure that the possession of a UID number is not made compulsory for NREGA workers in any circumstances, for the time being, and to initiate an informed debate on possible NREGA applications of UID.
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