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Rights

Rs 86,000 Crore Not Enough: NREGA Sangharsh Morcha Flags Crisis in Rural Jobs Scheme

It also criticized the current MGNREGS wage rates, which remain around Rs 200 per day in many states, despite prevailing local labour rates being much higher.

Rs 86,000 Crore Not Enough: NREGA Sangharsh Morcha Flags Crisis in Rural Jobs Scheme

Representative image. Photo: X/@roadscholarz

The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha has criticized the Union government's unchanged budget allocation of Rs 86,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), calling it insufficient and part of a deliberate effort to weaken the scheme.

In a statement released on Sunday (February 2), the Morcha highlighted that, after adjusting for inflation, the allocation for 2025-26 is effectively Rs 4,000 crore lower than in 2024-25.

The statement also pointed out that while last year’s allocation accounted for 0.26% of GDP, the latest budgetary provision amounts to only 0.24% of GDP.

The MGNREG Act guarantees rural households 100 days of employment annually at predetermined wage rates, but data as of February 1 indicates that, on average, households under the scheme have received fewer than 45 days of work this fiscal year, compared to around 52 days in 2023-24.

The Morcha further revealed that the scheme currently faces a deficit of Rs 9,860 crore, with pending wages totalling Rs 6,949 crore. It also noted that nearly 20% of the annual MGNREGS budget is used to clear past dues.
 
The inadequate allocation, according to the organization, will result in delayed wage payments, increased financial hardships for rural workers, and suppressed demand for work—ultimately denying people their legal right to employment and weakening rural infrastructure.

The statement accused the government of intentionally underfunding the scheme to discourage participation, arguing that low initial allocations, coupled with below-market wage rates, act as deterrents for rural workers.

“This is not neglect; it is systematic sabotage of a critical lifeline for millions,” the Morcha asserted.

A parliamentary standing committee on rural development and panchayati raj had previously acknowledged in December that inflation and the cost of living had significantly increased in both urban and rural areas.

It also criticized the current MGNREGS wage rates, which remain around Rs 200 per day in many states, despite prevailing local labour rates being much higher. Citing a 2019 expert committee recommendation that proposed setting the need-based minimum wage at Rs 375 per day, the committee urged a revision of MGNREGS wages accordingly.

As of the last wage revision in March 2024, no administrative region in India offers more than Rs 374 per day under MGNREGS.

MGNREGS wages are revised annually based on changes in the Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Laborers (CPI-AL). However, in a report from February 2024, the standing committee criticized the continued use of 2010-11 CPI-AL values as a benchmark, arguing that it fails to reflect current inflation and living costs. 

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