• India
  • Jan 16

Record allocation for rural jobs scheme

The Union government said on January 15 that it has made an additional allocation of over Rs 6,000 crore to rural employment scheme MGNREGA, taking the total to Rs 61,084 crore - the highest ever in a financial year.

The addition comes after nearly 90 MPs, several civil society members, activists, leaders of farmers’ movements and former bureaucrats wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi raising concerns over fund crunch.

“The government has allocated an additional Rs 6,084 crore to MGNREGA. This brings the total allocation to Rs 61,084 crore in 2018-19, making it the highest ever allocation,” said the Union Rural Development Ministry.

Over the past four years the Centre has completed major reforms in MGNREGA to transform it into a resource for sustainable livelihood for the poor, it said.

The governance reforms in the Act and thrust on sustainable livelihood through durable assets has ensured better lives for the poor through wages, it said.

Giving a comparison of the status of MGNREGA when the Modi-led government assumed power and at present, the ministry said more than 29.44 lakh works were completed in 2014-15, which has now increased to 61.9 lakh completed works.

In 2014-15, 26.85 per cent of payments to beneficiaries were generated within 15 days, which has now jumped to 91.82 per cent. The total funds allocated in 2014-15 was Rs 37,588 crore, it said.

On January 1, more than 99 per cent fund of the scheme was reportedly exhausted, three months before the end of the financial year.

Following this, 250 lawmakers and activists wrote the letter urging the prime minister to work for strengthening the scheme on a priority basis and “formally include it as part of the set of measures being considered to deal with the current rural and agrarian crisis”.

Notes