INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MNREGA gives 100 days of guaranteed work to the unemployed in rural IndiaThe allocation in Budget 2022 for the government's rural employment
programme MNREGA has been slashed by 25 per cent, even though the dependence of India's poorest on these jobs soared during the
pandemic.MNREGA or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has been allotted Rs 73,000 crore for the financial year
That is down from the revised estimate for the current financial year (2021-22), which is Rs 98,000 crore.The budget estimate in 2021-22 was
Rs 73,000 crore- over 34% less than what was actually spent on the scheme in 2020-21
According to the latest budget documents, the government had spent 1.1 lakh crore on the scheme in the pandemic year 2020-21.The Budget
estimate of MNREGA last year and this is the same
The revised estimate for last year, however, is indicative of a possible rise in demand for these jobs under what is the world's largest
public works programme.In December 2018, 1.9 crore households had demanded work under MNREGA
In December 2019, that dipped slightly to 1.7 crore households
But by December 2020 - the year of the prolonged lockdown -- there was a big jump in the number of households demanding work, to 2.7 crore
Last December, the demand for work continued to remain higher than pre-pandemic levels, at 2.4 crore.The programme, which gives 100 days of
guaranteed work to every household in rural India, became the go-to for those who lost their earnings when a lockdown to fight Covid shut
down offices, shops and factories for months.Banker Naina Lal Kidwai said government-subsidized housing projects and the infrastructure push
could also help create more jobs for rural workers."It is a jigsaw
It is quite possible that we will see rural jobs go up irrespective of MNREGA if the capex projects and affordable housing projects will
Hard to pass a comment on individual numbers, but on the face of it, for a highly successful scheme like MNREGA to see a reduction is a
little puzzling at this stage, given that we still have so much stress on the system," Ms Kidwai said.
