Chandigarh, July 18: Punjab has urged the central government to establish immediate pathways for regularizing over 2,100 rural development employees whose positions became unstable following the termination of the MGNREGA program. In a detailed letter addressed to the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, state authorities expressed strong opposition to federal changes that transition long-term employees into indefinite contractual roles under the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission framework.
The affected staff, including technical assistants and computer operators, have initiated a state-wide strike to protest the sudden administrative overhaul that took effect at the start of July. The ongoing strike has impacted rural program operations across multiple districts, as workers demand formal regularized status rather than starting over under the newly established mission guidelines.
State officials noted that the structural changes have widespread ramifications beyond regional borders, creating a shared labor crisis for multiple state administrations that must now navigate altered financial responsibilities imposed by the central setup.
“The primary reason behind their protest and strike is that more than 2,100 contractual employees, including Technical Assistants, Computer Assistants and others, who have been serving for the last 18 years, are demanding that their services be regularised under the new scheme,” Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond stated in his official communication.
The state maintains that since the personnel were recruited, trained, and funded entirely through federal mandates since 2005, the responsibility for ensuring their permanent employment rests with the central authorities. Regional leadership has formally requested that the new mission guidelines be amended to absorb these experienced workers permanently.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with them,” Sond declared, reaffirming the state’s position regarding the ongoing demonstrations. He asserted that the administration will continue to challenge the policy shift, maintaining, “I want to tell the Central Government that it should wake up, recognise the rights of these employees and regularise them after the years they have devoted to a Central Government scheme.”
