NREGA: Demand for Rs 3.62 lakh crore as BJP govt 'intentionally ignores scheme'

Counterview Desk
Demanding "adequate budget" for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2022-23, the advocacy group NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM) has pointed towards how funds for the rural jobs scheme are allowed to be dried up, leading to NREGA workers failing to get wage payments on time or even the stipulated compensation in case of delay.
In a statement ahead of the Union budget, the NGO states, at a time when the pandemic has further pushed the rural poor into distress, the BJP government is "intentionally ignoring the programme", which is helpful to the economy, adding, NREGA wages would "increase disposable income in rural areas", which in turn help "boost demand and increase consumption."

Text:

The stress on the economy became evident, especially in the aftermath of the raging pandemic from the 7.3% contraction in GDP in 2020-21. The distress faced by poorer households has continued over a period of time with the pandemic acting as a catalyst in increasing the woes of such households.
In a latest round of survey conducted by People’s Research on India’s Consumer Economy (PRICE) revealed that the share of the poorest 20% accounted for 5.9% of the total household income in 1995, which has dropped further to 3.3% in 2021.
On the other hand, the share of the richest 20% has jumped from 50.2% to 56.3% in the same period. Such a distress can be addressed to a large extent by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the public works programme which guarantees 100 days of paid employment to rural households.
NREGA Sangharsh Morcha expects a conservative allocation of around 3 lakh 62 thousand crore in the financial year 2022-23 for the effective implementation of the programme. Table 1 shows the manner of arriving at the estimation.
Leaving aside the legislative obligation to ensure that NREGA functions well, providing resources to improve NREGA will be helpful for the economy in general. NREGA wages would increase disposable income in rural areas.

This in turn will boost demand and increase consumption. However, the BJP government is intentionally ignoring the programme, year after year.

Drying up of funds

As on January 30, 2022 (R 14.6), 60 percent of wage payments were pending for the month. Every financial year, from the third quarter onwards, the funds for NREGA dry up. As a result, work slows down and delays in wage payments escalate.
Every year, about 20 percent of the NREGA budget is used to clear arrears. Within the first half of FY 2021-22, the programme showed a negative net balance condemning workers to “forced labour” by delaying wage payments.
This cycle keeps continuing and adversely affects workers in the peak NREGA season in the final quarter of the financial year. NSM has been consistently demanding that budgetary allocation for NREGA should be adequate to meet the legal guarantee of 100 days of work for every rural household demanding work and timely payment of wages.

Delay in wage payments

While the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) claims to have made progress in timely wage payments, large delays in wage payments still plague the programme.
According to the report authored by researchers from LibTech India titled ‘Heavy Wait’, only 56 percent of the transactions were successfully completed in 15 days after Funds Transfer Orders (FTOs) were sent to the Government of India (GoI). The report also stated that the Centre alone was responsible for delays in transferring wages for 71% of the total transactions.

Another study by LibTech India, found out that the Centre is taking 26 days on an average to complete the wage transfer to the NREGA workers in Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, despite calculating delays made by the centre in depositing wages, the delays made by the centre are not added to calculate delay compensation.
As per R 14.1, only 1.76% of payable delay compensation has been paid till 30th January. The centre must fix accountability on the agencies that cause the delays and ensure that workers are compensated for the full duration of the delay in the crediting of wages to their bank account.

Stagnating wage rates

The issue of stagnating wage rates is not new to NREGA. The government's decision to index the wage rate to the Consumer Price Index - Rural (CPI-R) as opposed to the older Consumer Price Index - Agricultural Labourers (CPI-AL) is a welcome move.
However, it has made such an announcement many times in the past and has not acted on it. Also, the change in index will lead to a very meagre increase in NREGA wages since they are very low to begin with. The new indexation will be meaningful if the NREGA wages are at least at par with the minimum wages in the states.

Strengthening gram panchayat planning

The Act had envisioned that gram panchayats would be instrumental in planning what work can be undertaken and what kind of assets can be built based on local needs.
With the passing of years, the planning of what work should be undertaken is thrust by the Centre. There is a need to ensure that the planning process is bottom-up in nature and gram panchayats have a greater say in deciding the nature of assets.

Comments

US-China truce temporary, larger trade war between two economies to continue

By Prabir Purkayastha The Trump-Xi meeting in Busan, South Korea on 30 October 2025 may have brought about a temporary relief in the US-China trade war. But unless we see the fine print of the agreement, it is difficult to assess whether this is a temporary truce or the beginning of a real rapprochement between the two nations. The jury is still out on that one and we will wait for a better understanding of what has really been achieved in Busan.

When growth shrinks people: Capitalism and the biological decline of the U.S. population

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Critically acclaimed Hungarian-American economic historian and distinguished scholar of economic anthropometric history, Prof. John Komlos (Professor Emeritus, University of Munich), who pioneered the study of the history of human height and weight, has published an article titled “The Decline in the Physical Stature of the U.S. Population Parallels the Diminution in the Rate of Increase in Life Expectancy” on October 31, 2025, in the forthcoming issue of Social Science & Medicine (SSM) – Population Health, Volume 32, December 2025. The findings of the article present a damning critique of the barbaric nature of capitalism and its detrimental impact on human health, highlighting that the average height of Americans began to decline during the era of free-market capitalism. The study draws on an analysis of 17 surveys from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (...

Mergers and privatisation: The Finance Minister’s misguided banking agenda

By Thomas Franco The Finance Minister has once again revived talk of merging two or three large public sector banks to make them globally competitive. Reports also suggest that the government is considering appointing Managing Directors in public sector banks from the private sector. Both moves would strike at the heart of India’s public banking system . Privatisation undermines the constitutional vision of social and economic justice, and such steps could lead to irreversible damage.

Justice for Zubeen Garg: Fans persist as investigations continue in India and Singapore

By Nava Thakuria* Even a month after the death of Assam’s cultural icon Zubeen Garg in Singapore under mysterious circumstances, thousands of his fans and admirers across eastern India continue their campaign for “ JusticeForZubeenGarg .” A large digital campaign has gained momentum, with over two million social media users from around the world demanding legal action against those allegedly responsible. Although the Assam government has set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which has arrested seven people, and a judicial commission headed by Justice Soumitra Saikia of the Gauhati High Court to oversee the probe, public pressure for justice remains strong.

Gujarat civil society to move Supreme Court against controversial electoral roll revision

By Rajiv Shah A recent, well-attended meeting of Gujarat civil society activists in Ahmedabad , held to discuss the impact of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, has decided to file a petition in the Supreme Court against the controversial exercise initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) across the country. Announcing this, senior High Court advocate Anand Yagnik , who heads the Gujarat chapter of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), said that a committee has already been formed to examine the pros and cons of SIR. “While the SIR exercise began in Gujarat on November 4 and is scheduled to continue for a month, we will file a supporting petition in the case against SIR in the Gujarat High Court or the Supreme Court after observing how it proceeds in the state,” he said. Yagnik’s announcement followed senior advocate Shahrukh Alam —who is arguing the SIR case in the Supreme Court—urging Gujarat’s civil society to also file ...

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

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah 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".

Why PESA, a Birsa Munda legacy, remains India’s unfulfilled commitment to its tribal peoples

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Nearly three decades ago, the Indian Parliament enacted a landmark law for tribal regions — the Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996, better known as PESA. This legislation sought to restore the traditional autonomy of tribal societies and empower them to use local resources according to their customs and needs. However, such decentralization never sat well with today’s developmental politicians, capitalists, and bureaucrats. The question therefore arises — what makes PESA so important?

Trump escalates threats of war against Venezuela, as millions in US set to lose essential benefits

By Manolo De Los Santos The United States government is in the grips of one of its longest-running funding gaps in history. The ongoing government shutdown has already stretched beyond 30 days and now, the food security of millions of Americans is at risk as the funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is drying up and Trump officials have refused to tap into contingency funds . Approximately 42 million individuals per month rely on SNAP benefits and are set to lose them beginning on November 1.

Is vaccine the Voldemort of modern medicine to be left undiscussed, unscrutinised?

By Deepika* Sridhar Vembu of Zoho stirred up an internet storm by tweeting about the possible link of autism to the growing number of vaccines given to children in India . He had only asked the parents to analyse the connection but doctors, so called public health experts vehemently started opposing Vembu's claims, labeling them "dangerous misinformation" that could erode “vaccine trust”!

Search This Blog