Day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced fund allocation for MGNREGA, while presenting her 8th Union Budget in the Parliament, Congress slammed the governenment alleging it of ignoring the job scheme.
Indifference to rural livelihoods: Congress
The grand old party lashed out at the government over keeping MGNREGS budget stagnant. Congress said the "neglect" of this crucial safety net exposes its indifference to rural livelihoods.
No changes in fund allocation for MGNREGS
The allocation for the flagship rural employment scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Development Scheme (MGNREGS) was Rs 86,000 crore, the same as last year.
In 2023-24, the allocation for MGNREGS was Rs 60,000 crore, but additional funds were provided and the actual expenditure stood at Rs 89,153.71 crore, the Budget document showed. No additional allocations for MGNREGS were made in 2024-25.
The grand old party said despite rising rural distress, the government has kept MGNREGA's budget stagnant at Rs 86,000 crore for 2024-26.
This effectively represents a decline in the real (adjusted for price rise) allocations made to MGNREGA, it added.
The MGNREGS provides guaranteed 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to at least one member of every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It keeps at least one-third of jobs for women.
In the Covid pandemic year of 2020-21, when MGNREGS proved a lifeline in providing employment in rural areas amid huge reverse migration in the lockdown period, Rs 1,11,169 crore was spent on the scheme, according to previous budget documents.
(With PTI inputs)