Rural job scheme spend tops BE, but low allocation cause for concern

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

The lowering of the allocation under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) for FY24 — by almost 18 per cent over the Budget Estimate for FY23 and nearly 33 per cent over the Revised Estimate for the same fiscal year — hinges on two assumptions.

One, according to senior government officials, is that as economic activities gather strength, demand will come down. Second, being a demand-driven scheme, the allocation can be stepped up during the year, as regularly done in the past. The officials, according to published reports, also argue the extra allocation for rural housing (Pradhan