MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act)

A Parliamentary committee recently released a report titled “Rural employment through MGNREGA-An insight into wage rates and other matters relating thereto” in the Lok Sabha.

Key highlights of the report:

• There was a 22% reduction in funds allocated for MGNREGA for the fiscal year 2023-24, as compared to the Rs 1.1 lakh crore, requested by the Ministry of Rural Development.
• There was an increase in permissible works under MGNREGA to 266, pointing out the inadequacy and variability of daily wages across states.
• It was a beneficial interlinkage of labour-oriented schemes like PMAY-G (Pradan Manti Awas Yojana-Gramin) and PMGSY (Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana) with MGNREGA, for better utilization of the labor force.

Key recommendations of the report:

• The guaranteed number of days of work under MGNREGA shall be increased from 100 to 150.
• The government shall reconsider the suggestion of the World Bank to allocate 1.6% of GDP to MGNREGA.

About the MGNREGA:

• It is a demand-driven wage employment scheme, that guarantees at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every rural household wanting to do unskilled manual work, creating durable assets to mitigate poverty and foster rural development.
• It was launched in 2006.
• It prohibits contractor involvement and mandates implementation mainly through Gram Panchayats (GPs), with employment being provided within 5 km of an applicant’s residence and a one-third job guarantee for women.
• If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance, and the scheme mandates Social Audit for transparency and accountability.
• NREGAsoft, an e-Governance system in local languages, captures all activities under NREGA, limiting data entries for employment above 100 days unless requested by the State or UT.
• There is aprovision for an additional 50 days of employment under certain conditions.
• 34.8% of total registered and 12.7% of active workers are ineligible for ABPS (Aadhar Based Payments System), and potential payment failures due to technical glitches.

Ref: Source