Government Not Considering Minimum Work Threshold Under MGNREGA, Says Ministry

The government has spent over Rs 60,000 crore under the scheme against the budgeted Rs 73,000 crore so far this fiscal.

The central government has said that it's not considering a minimum threshold of work under the rural jobs guarantee scheme for better targeting.The centre is not considering defining the quantum of work to be done to qualify as a day’s work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, the Ministry of Rural Development said in a statement to BQ Prime.Earlier this month, the Economic Times had reported that the centre may consider defining what would qualify as a day‘s work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This was prompted by a discussion on funds spent on the scheme, the report said.According to economists BQ Prime spoke with, such a move could stifle fund flow and would go against the spirit of decentralisation envisioned in the scheme.The government has spent more than Rs 60,000 crore under the scheme against the initial budget estimate of Rs 73,000 crore so far this fiscal, according to the live dashboard of the MGNREGA.Whether the allocation is revised would become clear after the Ministry of Finance presents its supplementary demand for grants. In the financial year 2021-22, allocation for the jobs programme was increased from the budged Rs 73,000 crore to Rs 98,000 crore, as the pandemic had disrupted the economy.Continue Reading. Read more on Business News by BloombergQuint.

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