In the recent week, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has dealt three major, concerted blows to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA): (1) The Budget allocation for NREGA was reduced to just Rs 60,000 crore in 2023-24 (less than Rs 50,000 crore if we deduct wage arrears from 2022-23). This makes this year’s allocation the lowest as a proportion of GDP (0.2%) in the history of the programme. (2) The...
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Budget Briefs: FY 2022-23 MGNREGS allocation 9% lower, expenditure outstrips funds - Ria Kasliwal, Mridusmita Bordoloi, Avani Kapur
Accountability Initiative, Centre for Policy Research Budget 2023-24 will be unveiled on February 1. This brief examines the Government of India’s flagship rural employment programme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). It was launched in 2006 and is the largest scheme of the Department of Rural Development (DoRD) under the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). It aims to provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every rural...
More »Rural employment scheme social audits marred by delays -Sobhana K Nair
-The Hindu In four States, auditors’ wages delayed as funds from Centre are yet to arrive The Union Rural Development Ministry (MoRD) has told States that failure to carry out social audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) will invite action, including withholding of funds. However, it is the Centre that bears the administrative cost of these Social Audit Units, and inordinate delay in the release of funds...
More »Ailing NREGA: Additional Fund Allocation Uncertain, Activists to Protest Against Poor Implementation of Scheme -Rabindra Nath Sinha
-Newsclick.in The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has called for a protest from August 2 to 4 against insufficient fund allocation, delay in wage disbursal, and other issues in implementing the employment scheme. Kolkata: Uncertainty looms over the Centre's decision on additional fund allocation to the MGNREGA programme before undertaking the traditional mid-term review at the end of August or early September. Contrary to official expectations, the dependence of rural households on jobs under...
More »The advent of ‘app-solute’ chaos in NREGA -Chakradhar Buddha and Laavanya Tamang
-The Hindu The new National Mobile Monitoring Software application has problems that are clearly eroding the right to work In May 2021, the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) launched the National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app, a new application meant for “improving citizen oversight and increasing transparency” in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) works. It is to be deployed by NREGA Mates, local women at the panchayat level who are selected...
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