New Delhi : A report was released recently by Azim Premji University, National Consortium of Civil Society Organisations and Collaborative Research and Dissemination (CoRD) on 13th October, 2022, on which several reports have been published in the newspapers on 14th October 2022. The report is not available in the public domain.
Most of the reports have commended the critical role played by the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in sustaining and supporting poor households during the Covid period. However, some reports have failed to appreciate the nature of the Scheme which has resulted in inaccurate portrayal of its implementation.
Many report stated that around 39% MNREGA card holders didn’t get single day of work in 2020-21. It needs to be appreciated that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is a demand driven scheme. It will not be correct to assume that all registered households had demanded work. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA) provides guarantee of at least 100 days of wage employment against the demand made by a household in a rural area.
The persondays generation during last three years is as under:
| FY 2021-2022 | FY 2020-2021 | FY 2019-2020 | |
| Persondays Generated [In Cr] | 363.33 | 389.09 | 265.35 |
The demand for work and offer of work against the demand during last three years is as under:
| Financial Year | Offer of work against the demand (in %) |
| 2019-20 | 99.79 |
| 2020-21 | 99.89 |
| 2021-22 | 99.55 |
As per Section 7(1), Mahatma Gandhi NREGA: “If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance in accordance with this section.”
The average days of employment per household during last three-year is as under:
| Financial Year | Average days of employment per household |
| 2019-20 | 48.4 |
| 2020-21 | 51.52 |
| 2021-22 | 50.07 |
The total no. of household completed 100 days of wage employment during last 3 years.
| Financial Year | No. of household completed 100 days of wage employment (in lakh) |
| 2019-20 | 40.60 |
| 2020-21 | 71.97 |
| 2021-22 | 59.18 |
It may be also mentioned that during past five years, following releases have been made to the States/UTs under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, not counting some expenditure incurred at central level:-
| Financial Year | BE Outlay (Cr.) | Releases to the States/UTs (Cr.) |
| 2018-19 | 61,000 | 62,125 |
| 2019-20 | 71,000 | 71,020 |
| 2020-21 | 61,500 | 1,09,810 |
| 2021-22 | 73,000 | 96,916 |
| 2022-23# | 73,000 | 52,833 |
# Expenditure till date
It will be seen that the actual releases to the States have been much higher than that provided for at the BE level. Whenever, additional fund is required, Ministry of Finance is requested to provide the funds. Govt. of India is committed to release funds for wage and material payments for proper implementation of the scheme, as per the provisions of the act and guidelines applicable for Central Government as well as State Governments.
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