Two back-to-back reports that shed light on the status of MGNREGA implementation in the country, have been released recently from the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). A review of MGNREGA implementation in 8 different states of India by a team of experts during the month of May this year reveals that in many of the drought affected districts, the Gram Panchayats have no work to offer under the programme. (Please click...
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What’s wrong with MGNREGA? All you want to know -Sandip Das
-The Financial Express The rural development ministry has identified unrealistic planning at gram Panchayat level, lack of quality assets created, inadequate capacity of functionaries, inadequate technical staff, lack of monitoring and delay in wage payment, as factors adversely impacting the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The report on performance, initiatives and strategies (FY15-16 and FY16-17) for MGNREGA released by the rural development ministry also identified issues...
More »Centre spends 22% more on MGNREGS in FY16 -Sanjeeb Mukherjee
-Business Standard The Centre's expenditure on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in 2015-16 was around Rs 43,848 crore, 22 per cent more than the Rs 36,025.04 crore incurred in the previous financial year. However, a statement by the Rural Development Ministry said Rs 56,000 was incurred on the scheme in 2015-16, but of this Rs 12,152 crore was paid in 2016-17 as arrears. This payment would now have to...
More »Panchayati Raj Ministry: A downgrade for democracy -Mani Shankar Aiyar
-The Hindu Confining it to just the Ministry of Rural Development would be the most retrograde step in democratic decentralisation in over a quarter century. If, as The Hindu’s exclusive on Wednesday indicates, Prime Minister Narendra Modi were to close down the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, it would confirm one’s worst fears about his government’s hypocritical approach to grass-roots democracy for grass-roots development. This was a lacuna that was evident in the ‘Gujarat...
More »Parched Panchayati Raj Ministry on verge of closure -Mehboob Jeelani
-The Hindu It has become irrelevant after the crippling budget cuts After facing a massive budget cut last year, the future of the Panchayati Raj Ministry continues to look bleak. After the BJP government shuttered two of its key programmes — the Backward Regions Grants Fund (BRGF) and the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Sashaktikaran Abhiyan (RGPSA) — several officials at the Ministry feel it would soon be closed down and turned into a...
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