BY TC News Desk
Agartala, 25th August 2025: In a strongly worded statement issued today, Pradesh Congress spokesperson Prabir Chakraborty criticized the state government for what he described as the “virtual collapse” of the REGA employment scheme, citing widespread layoffs and dwindling workdays for rural laborers.
“People across the state are suffering due to lack of work,” Chakraborty said. “The REGA scheme, which once provided a lifeline to lakhs of families, is now reduced to offering barely 30 to 32 days of employment a year.”
According to data released by the Union Ministry of Rural Development, a staggering 8,98,312 families have been laid off under the REGA scheme in Tripura. Of these, 8,80,497 held job cards. The total number of REGA workers previously stood at 21,65,277, with 9,21,415 now marked as laid off.
Chakraborty alleged that the government is using bureaucratic hurdles—such as Aadhaar and bank account linking requirements—as a pretext to exclude workers. “Earlier, exclusions were based on genuine reasons like improved financial status or migration to urban areas. But now, under the so-called double engine government, names are being struck off due to document issues,” he said.
District-level data reveals a troubling trend of widespread layoffs under the REGA scheme. In Dhalai, over 1.70 lakh workers have been removed from the rolls, while West Tripura has seen more than 1.43 lakh layoffs. Gomti district recorded 1.22 lakh, Sepahijala 1.37 lakh, and North Tripura 1.03 lakh affected workers. Khowai reported 99,000 layoffs, South Tripura 88,000, and Unakoti 56,868, highlighting the scale of the employment crisis across the state.
Chakraborty also pointed out that other government departments—such as the Ardi Panchayat, Agriculture, and Tribal Welfare—had previously created seasonal job opportunities during public festivals, a practice that has been “completely absent for the last seven and a half years.”
On behalf of the Pradesh Congress, he demanded that the state government immediately reinstate all cancelled job cards and include Indian citizens residing near border areas in the REGA workforce. He also called for a guaranteed minimum of 100 days of work annually, with efforts to extend it to 200 days, alongside a daily wage of ₹500. Additionally, he urged that workers receive their government-sanctioned wages within seven days of completing their work.
“With Sharad Utsav approaching, we urge the government to provide more work opportunities—not just through REGA, but across all departments—as was done in earlier years,” Chakraborty said.
He concluded with a call to action: “We appeal to all democratically minded citizens to unite and build a statewide movement to demand justice for our workers.”
