Coronavirus | Economists call for urban jobs scheme
The HinduA new Urban Employment Guarantee Act is needed to complement the existing rural jobs scheme during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, said a group of development activists and economists. Given that a large number of migrants returning from cities to villages as a result of the lockdown would desperately need work but may not have MGNREGA job cards, the group suggested that anyone wanting work should be given a job, with card registration made available on site. Signatories to the letter include economists Jean Dreze, Jayati Ghosh and Reetika Khera, activists Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan and Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women, as well as Swaraj Party president Yogendra Yadav. Last year, researchers from the Azim Premji University’s Centre for Sustainable Employment — who have also signed this letter — had drafted an outline for an urban jobs scheme which would also focus on ecological restoration in towns and cities by harnessing the potential of unemployed youth.
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