ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the effectiveness with which organized agitations by Shramik Sanghatana and Bhoomi Sena have been able to achieve local implementation of two existing laws: the Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Minimum Wages Act. The postponement temporarily put off the criticism that opposition parties had already introduced concerning the wages to be paid under the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS). State officials readily acknowledge that it is virtually impossible for government to ensure that private agricultural workers are paid the legal minimum wage. The 1973 Page report on agricultural employment suggested that EGS wages should be equal to the legal minimum wage in order to encourage landowners to obey the minimum wage law. A 1974 article in Economic and Political Weekly claimed that "the history of adivasi movements and struggles in Maharashtra shows conclusively that the government acts to improve the lot of the adivasis only under pressure."
