Skip to main content

Govt of India responsible for 71% delays in NREGA wage payments, say economists

Counterview Desk 

In an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, more than 70 economists have urged the Government of India to release “adequate funds” for implementing the rural jobs guarantee scheme under the MGNREGA immediately, pointing out that the pandemic continues to adversely affect the living condition of working families.
Noting that though 41 per cent more rural households sought work in 2020 compared to the previous year, the letter said, despite this, the funds allocation was cut by nearly 30 per cent. It added, “As per official data, the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) estimates that as of November 15, 2021 the programme was in deficit of Rs 10,000 crore.”

Text:

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has repeatedly proved to be a crucial lifeline for hundreds of millions of rural households. It has assumed more significance during the period of the pandemic. Even now, employment levels and wage incomes across the country remain significantly lower than before.
This affects the living conditions of working families as well as the wider potential for economic recovery, which remains constrained by the inadequate revival of mass consumption demand. In this context, we are writing to express our concern about the ongoing funds crunch facing the programme and to urge the central government to immediately release funds to states to continue with and expand the programme as needed.
It is unfortunate that despite seeing evidence of the critical security provided by MGNREGA during the first year of the pandemic with 41% more rural households seeking work in 2020 compared to the previous year, the fund allocation for the programme was cut by nearly 30%. Lack of funds results in suppression of demand for work and delayed payment of wages to workers. These are violations of the Act; they also constrain economic recovery.
Of the central budgetary allocation of Rs 73,000 crore for the programme for FY 2020-21, Rs 17,451 crores (nearly a quarter of the amount) would simply meet the pending liabilities of previous years. With more than four months remaining in this financial year, the estimated expenditure has already exceeded the budget allocation.
As per official data, the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) estimates that as of 15 November 2021 the programme was in deficit of Rs.10,000 crore. Over Rs 1,121 crore is due to the MGNREGA workers as wage payments. 24 states and Union Territories have negative balances, having spent more than they received from the central government for this. This implies that the state governments are in no position to implement the Act.
There is evidence of significant unmet demand. 13% of households that demanded work did not get work. This is a highly conservative estimate, as it does not include the massive extent of demand for work that is not even registered on the MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS) on account of shortage of funds. Unmet demand is as high as 20% in the states of Gujarat, Telangana and Bihar.
Without further increase in funds, the programme will also be unable to meet its promise of providing 100 days of work to every household that demands it: over 51 per cent of households employed under MGNREGA this year got work for 30 days or less, and less than 10 per cent were employed for more than 80 days.
As per a recent study by LibTech India of 1.8 million wage transactions across 10 states for the first half of this financial year, the central government alone is responsible for delays in transferring wages for 71% of the transactions. Moreover, in violation of the Supreme Court orders in the Swaraj Abhiyan vs Union of India case, the central government still does not compensate the workers for the delays it is causing in the payment of wages.
We therefore urge the central government to strengthen and expand the MGNREGA, by providing additional funds to meet the demand for work and to ensure that the programme functions as the law requires. Through its effects on mass demand, this will also contribute to recovery of the overall economy and micro and small enterprises that are currently facing extreme difficulties.
---
Click here for signatories

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.