Last Update: February 06, 2023, 17:46 IST
MGNREGS aims to enhance the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to rural households whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. (Representational photo/PTI)
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cut the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme by almost a third
Chief Economic Advisor V Ananth Nageswaran on Monday said the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) has been reduced in the budget for 2023-24 as more funds have been allocated for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission. , which are expected to provide employment to the same set of workers in rural areas.
Nageswaran also said that the money in the hands of the beneficiaries has doubled due to the measures taken by the government. “One of the reasons for the lower allocation for MGNREGA is that there has been a huge increase in allocation, especially for PMAY (Gramin) and Jal Jeevan Yojana. “…so it is expected that rural labor will be able to get employment in these projects,” he said at an event here.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has cut the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme by almost a third.
MGNREGA has been allocated Rs 60,000 crore for 2023-24, which is about 32 per cent lower than the revised estimate for the previous fiscal.
He further said, “If they (rural workers) are not absorbed (in PMAY or Jal Jeevan Mission), then since MGNREGA is a demand-driven programme, we can accommodate them through higher allocation in MGNREGA.”
Explaining the thinking behind allocating less funds for MGNREGS, Nageswaran said that India’s economic growth is expected to be around 10.5-11 per cent in the next fiscal year, which will allow some rural workers to move back to urban areas. Will also look to find more. Jobs.
“Therefore, putting these two factors together, we expect the demand for MGNREGA to be lower in the coming financial year,” he added. Allocation of Rs 79,590 crore for the scheme However, budget documents show that the increase is mainly in the rural component of the scheme.
In the budget presented on February 1, the government earmarked Rs 25,103 crore for the urban component of the scheme, while Rs 54,487 was allocated for the rural component, taking the total to Rs 79,590 crore.
In the last financial year, Rs 20,000 crore was allocated for the urban component of PMAY, while the revised estimate for expenditure was Rs 28,708 crore. The Centre’s flagship Jal Jeevan Mission has been allocated Rs 69,684 crore, which is more than Rs 54,808 crore to be spent by the department in the current financial year.
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