Snow Clearance Under MG-NREGA

For more than eight years, I have been trying my best to make our government understand the importance of including snow clearance work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MG-NREGS or MG-NREGA). I have written extensively and met legislators and parliamentarians from J&K to persuade the Government of India to include these provisions in MG-NREGS. In fact, the former MP from Baramulla, Mohammad Akbar Lone, at my request, wrote a detailed letter to the Government of India in January 2022, suggesting the inclusion of snow clearance work under NREGA in J&K and other hill states/UTs such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, etc.

Mr. Lone’s son, Hilal Akbar Lone, who is the current MLA from Sumbal Sonwari, has also been vocal on this issue and recently took it up with the DC Bandipora. National Conference leader and current MLA of Banihal, Sajad Shaheen, made a similar demand a few years ago, appealing to LG Manoj Sinha to ensure that snow clearance work is taken up under MG-NREGA in the far-flung areas of the Banihal constituency, especially in places like Mahu-Mangit, Neel, Pogal, Maligam, Paristan, and Sarachi. These areas receive heavy snowfall, and authorities are often unable to clear the snow for weeks.

Snowfall and Lack of Service

When winter sets in and snowfall blocks roads, chaos and confusion prevail. Due to the dearth of snow clearance machines, the government hires earth-moving equipment like JCBs to clear roads. While this does remove snow, it damages the road surface, creating further problems. There have been two spells of snowfall this winter, and we expect more until March. However, the government isn’t able to provide the desired level of service, causing significant hardships for the people.

Main roads are cleared of snow with machines, but inner links and roads in remote villages like Kupwara, Kishtwar, Ramban, Bandipora, Baramulla, and Poonch remain untouched. It would be ideal if locals were involved in undertaking this work under MG-NREGA.

Employment Guarantee in Winter

During the winter months, especially in snowfall-hit areas, people are often jobless. The preamble of NREGA is to ensure employment guarantee (Rozgar Guarantee), but the government focuses more on physical asset creation. We cannot have a uniform policy for the entire nation, as India is diverse and geographically distinct. The programs under MG-NREGA in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, or Kerala cannot be replicated in Himalayan states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, or J&K.

It is essential to make changes to the operational guidelines of this flagship program. In winter months, who will guarantee employment for the rural population in snowbound areas, where life comes to a halt for 3–4 months? This is not the case in most other states.

MG-NREGS would not only help government agencies clear snow from rural link roads without difficulty but also fulfill the paramount purpose of the scheme by providing livelihoods to locals. This would adhere perfectly to the preamble of MG-NREGA, which focuses on employment generation (Rozgar Guarantee).

The Rural Development Department (RDD) of J&K claims that clearing snow from lanes, roads, and public spaces cannot be included under NREGA as it does not lead to the creation of physical assets. However, officers must learn from Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, where a local DC set a precedent around 2011–2012 by including snow clearance in NREGA works. Despite this example, the Jammu and Kashmir government is yet to forward a formal proposal to the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of India.

What Does an Asset Mean?

Timely snow clearance across all snowbound areas in J&K is not feasible unless the government involves local Panchayats and the Department of Rural Development. NREGA funds and waste management funds can also be dovetailed. This would eliminate the need for JCBs to clear snow from small roads, which damages the roads and benefits only contractors while leaving locals jobless.

Snow clearance at the right time in remote/hilly areas is an asset, as it generates livelihood for rural youth, especially during a period when they have no work. Why do we view assets as only physical things? Saving blacktopped roads from damage by JCBs is also an asset, as it conserves taxpayer money.

Under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin, NREGA funds can be utilized for Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) through convergence. If this is possible for waste management, why can’t NREGA funds be used for snow clearance? Many SLWM activities, such as waste segregation, waterbody cleaning, and IEC work, do not involve physical asset creation, yet they are permissible under SBM Gramin guidelines. Why not extend this rationale to snow clearance?

Lack of Understanding

J&K Rural Development Department officers have not provided adequate explanations or presentations to the Union Rural Development Ministry on this matter, which is why the case remains unresolved. Even the former Minister for RDD J&K, Abdul Haq Khan, raised this issue with the Union Minister in 2017 but failed to present valid arguments convincingly. This lack of initiative and understanding has delayed the inclusion of snow clearance work under NREGA in J&K and other states.

Conclusion

I urge J&K’s Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Javid Ahmad Dar, to take up this issue with the Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayats, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, soon. This would benefit not only J&K but also other hilly states that experience snowfall in winters. I also request MLA Banihal Sajad Shaheen and MLA Sumbal Sonawari Hilal Akbar Lone to raise this issue with the Chief Minister and RDD Minister Javid Dar, as both have been strong proponents of this cause in the past.

• Views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent the editorial stance of Kashmir Observer

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