MGNREGA

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs Wednesday held talks with Rural Development Ministry officials after being unable to meet Union Minister Giriraj Singh and raise the issue of pending MGNREGA funds for workers in West Bengal. The delegation, led by Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, included Lower House member and TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Mohua Moitra and Dola Sen among others. "We will not let 17 lakh families of Bengal be deprived by the BJP. We will continue to raise our voices until MGNREGS funds are released. Without an assurance, we will not leave. We're not here for tea and snacks," Banerjee told reporters. Banerjee said that party leaders had spoken to the minister and were asked to meet him on Wednesday. "I was told that he went to Parliament today. We came here once it was adjourned. We will wait for 10-12 days and if they do not release the funds we will take to the streets," Banerjee said, adding that neither the minister nor the junior ...

The number of person days generated under MGNREGA in January and February this year following the implementation of an app-based attendance system has gone down compared to previous years, data compiled by a civil society group has showed. As groups of MGNREGA workers continue to protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the new attendance and payment systems for over a month, data compiled by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, which has been at the helm of the protest, showed 34.59 crore person days were generated in January and February this year. This was significantly lower than January and February 2022, when 53.07 crore person days of work were generated. In 2021, 56.94 crore person days of work were generated in the same period. In 2020, it was 47.75 crore person days in the two months, while in 2019, 47.86 crore person days were generated in January and February. The data has been calculated using the MIS Report. MGNREGA workers protesting the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS)

Nearly Rs 40,000 crore lying unutilised with Construction workers welfare boards across the country

As MGNREGA workers continued to protest for the 40th day against the new app-based attendance mechanism, DMK MP Kanimozhi and RJD MP Manoj Jha extended their support to the protesters and demanded the new systems be rolled back. Kanimozhi, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, said she will invite MGNREGA workers before the committee. Jha, meanwhile, accused the government of not listening to the workers, and stressed on taking the protest to the streets. He said his question in Rajya Sabha on Aadhaar-based payment to MGNREGA workers was not answered properly by the government. "What can I say about this session... You all are watching what is happening to Parliament, or what has happened in Parliament. We should use past tense, there used to be a Parliament. When we go to the new building perhaps it would be even more difficult," Jha said. "The only option available to us... they are afraid of the force on the street, not the for

The Centre has notified a hike in wage rates under the rural job guarantee programme for the 2023-24 financial year with Haryana having the highest daily wage at Rs 357 per day and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the lowest at Rs 221. The Union Ministry of Rural Development issued a notification on the change in wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on March 24. The notification was issued under Section 6 (1) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, that says the Centre may, by notification, specify the wage rate for its beneficiaries. The wage hikes, which range from Rs 7 to Rs 26, will come into effect from April 1. Compared to last year's rates, Rajasthan registered the highest percentage increase in wages. The revised wage for Rajasthan is Rs 255 per day, up from Rs 231 in 2022-23. Bihar and Jharkhand have registered a percentage increase of around eight from last year. Last year, the daily wage for

Civil society says getting manual attendance approved by district officers is tedious

Even as a parliamentary standing committee raised concerns over the reduced fund allocation for the MGNREGA scheme, the government said there is "no dearth of money" if the demand arises for wage employment. The Standing Committee on Rural Development, which submitted its report in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, said the budget estimates for MGNREGS have been reduced by Rs 29,400 crore for 2023-24 when compared to the revised estimates of 2022-23. "The Act governing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme provides Right to Work' to such deprived sections of the rural populace who are willing to work. It is a last resort of succour for the jobless section who don't have any other means to feed them and their family members," the report said. "The role and importance of MGNREGA were visible during the corona pandemic times when it acted as a ray of hope for the needy in times of distress," it said. The ministry, in its response, stated that the scheme is ...

Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh termed the recent measures steps to check corruption in the scheme and said the government would not compromise on transparency

In a latest development in the MGNREGA fund scam involving suspended IAS official Pooja Singhal and others, the ED conducted raids in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh at the premises of Mohammad Izhar Ansari

The affected labourers had not worked a single day in the last three years and were still earning money through this scheme

Around 15 lakh fake job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in West Bengal have been cancelled during the last one year

Malpractices under MGNREGA must be addressed

Dismissing Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's charges related to MGNREGA, Union minister Giriraj Singh said on Saturday that both allocations for the scheme and asset creations under it during the Narendra Modi government were more than the previous UPA dispensation. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Saras Mela in Noida, Singh took strong exception to Gandhi's Facebook post alleging a reduction in MGNREGA budget and said the Congress leader should get his facts and figures right before making such "wild allegations". He also challenged Gandhi to a debate on the rural job scheme. The Union rural development minister said that in the 10 years of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, the budget estimate (BE) for MGNREGA never exceeded Rs 33,000 crore and in most of the fiscals, part of the allocated funds got surrendered due to poor implementation of the scheme. Whereas, under the Narendra Modi government, the revised estimate (RE) for the scheme exceeded

The fund allocation for MGNREGA has not gone down, FM Nirmala Sitharaman here on Friday, adding it is a demand driven scheme and as and when the demand increases, the Centre provides money

Shimla, Feb 17 (IANS/ 101Reporters) Being part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) Scheme has brought many benefits to Chatra Devi (62) of Sohari village in Bijhari block of Hamirpur district. A registered worker under the Himachal Pradesh Building & Other Construction Workers Welfare Board for over a decade, she received Rs 51,000 as boards assistance for her daughters wedding last year.

While cutting down the allocation for MGNREGA in the budget of FY24, the Centre has raised it for Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Grameen, and Jal Jeevan Mission

Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that the total central dues to the state government under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) currently stands at Rs 7,000 crore

Those criticising the budgetary allocation for MNREGA should understand that the scheme is "demand driven", Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said on Thursday, adding that the Narendra Modi government has always allocated sufficient funds for the programme. Amid criticism over the budgetary allocation for the flagship rural employment programme -- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme -- Singh said the Modi government's allocation are higher than that by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government. "Those criticising the allocation should understand what MNREGA is before saying that the allocation has gone down. In 2020, we had only Rs 62,000 crore allocation and the expenditure was Rs 1,12,000 crore. Every year, MNREGA budget (allocation) is around Rs 70,000 crore," Singh told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the national capital. "Those who are shouting about MNREGA today, in eight years, the UPA's BE (Budget Estimate) was more than R

But it is about 9.7% more than the pre-pandemic month of Jan 2020; meanwhile, activists flay slashing of MGNREGS budget, say it will cause wage payment delays, suppress work demand

Critics say fund cut will lead to delay in payments, suppression of demand