The unmet demand for MGNREGS work

#GS 02 Social Justice

MGNREGS

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched on 2nd February 2006 under the MGNREG Act.
Its aim is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
It also aims to create durable assets in rural areas such as wells, ponds, roads and canals.
MGNREGS can help reduce migration from rural areas to urban areas, thereby reducing the population stress felt by major cities in India.

Unlike previous employment guarantee schemes, MGNREGS aims at tackling the root causes of poverty by creating a rights–based framework which will also help to improve public infrastructure.
The statutory obligations of MGNREGS says that at least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
The minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 must be paid to workers under MGNREGA.
Employment must be provided to the applicant within 15 days of the application.
Works conducted under MGNREGS must undergo social audit.
The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) is the implementing agency for MGNREGS.

The Budgetary allocation for MGNREGA in the 2023-24 is ₹60,000 crore which is less than 0.2% of the GDP, the lowest ever allocation as a percentage of GDP.
World Bank has estimated that the allocation should be 1.6% of the GDP.
The next financial year as per estimates will begin with pending wages of ₹15,000 crore.
Accounting for inflation, in real terms, the allocation for MGNREGA calculated will be less than ₹45,000 crore.
People’s Action for Employment Guarantee and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has provided an estimate of ₹2.72 lakh crore as the minimum budget required for the scheme.
There is evidence that wage payment delays in the scheme are caused by inadequate allocations.

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