-The Hindu Exponential rise in expenditure on material component, notes study group Hyderabad: Budget cuts for the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Scheme coupled with the administrative changes have resulted in reduced employment through the highly successful rural employment scheme in Telangana in the year 2021-22. Improvement in COVID-19 pandemic situation too has been a major factor. Analysis of three years’ data related to the scheme’s expenditure in Telangana’s 32 districts has revealed...

-The Hindu State governments were facing a shortage of Rs.9,682 crores as on November 26, 2021, says advocate Prashant Bhushan. The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to list an application mentioned urgently by advocate Prashant Bhushan highlighting a "grave crisis" concerning crores of rural poor who were not getting their wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) even as the COVID-19 pandemic had driven them to the brink...

-The Telegraph The social audits take note of issues such as the card holders’ grievances and whether projects have been completed correctly The Centre has linked approval for the states’ rural job scheme budgets to their performance on certain transparency measures, hanging a cloud over funds release under the programme from April 1. The Union rural development ministry on Tuesday wrote to all the states seeking information by Wednesday on the social audits...

-The Hindu Genuine labourers not getting their dues while money keeps changing hands due to collusion of unscrupulous elements, says report Fake job cards, widespread corruption, late uploading of muster rolls, and huge pending payments for wages and materials are among the issues hampering the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, apart from insufficient funding, according to a Parliamentary Standing Committee report submitted to the Lok Sabha today. The...

-Frontline.in A Parliamentary Standing Committee pulls up the Rural Development Ministry in its report on a “critical evaluation” of the MGNREGA and calls for more investment in the scheme. A Parliamentary Standing Committee report of the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, tabled in February, strongly recommends enhancing the budget for implementation of work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, higher wage rates, and increasing the number...