Govt of India 'eliminating' rural jobs scheme: Allocation one third of NREGA demand

By A Representative
Ahead of the presentation of the Union budget, the civil rights networks Peoples’ Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) and NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), have claimed that an estimated Rs 2,71,862 crore would be required as a budgetary allocation for FY 2023-24 for implementing of the rural jobs scheme under the provisions of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) if all the workers who worked in the current year were to be given 100 days of work.
Even as focusing on other issues affecting NREGA such as social audits, wage delays and the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app, the statement asserted that work and payment of wages under NREGA, which have been stopped for more than a year in West Bengal under the garb of corruption, must be resumed immediately.
Talking to media while releasing the statement, Nikhil Dey of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, said, if the government sees NREGA as a demand-based programme, and according to the law, the labourers must get 100 days of work on the basis of demand, then the budget of NREGA for the year 2023-2024 should be Rs 2,73,000 crore.

At present, he said, the budget allocated for NREGA which is Rs 73,000 crore, less than one-third of the required amount for NREGA. Due to the non-allocation of sufficient funds for NREGA, the work demand of NREGA workers is not being met by States. In this way we see that NREGA workers are being punished as well as ignored by the Central government.
Ashish Ranjan of the Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan, Bihar, drew the attention to how the Central government is trying to eliminate NREGA through continuous changes. Instead of this, the Centre should focus on doing structural reforms in NREGA, and should focus on such states where administration is not so strong through which NREGA can operate successfully.
For its effective implementation, he said, the administrative system should focus on resolving the issue of unfilled panchayat office positions in states over the years. About 40% of such posts are vacant in Bihar, which should be filled immediately. Instead of improving such structure, the government is engaged in re-evaluation of NREGA, behind which the intention is to create hurdles for NREGA.
Stating that the government has not paid wages in West Bengal for one year by making the issue of corruption, he noted, “On the other hand, under the leadership of Amarjit Sinha, a committee has been formed, which will investigate the states which are in the most poor category for NREGA”, apprehending, “NREGA can be obstructed in the same way as it has been done in West Bengal, by making an issue that more money is being spent in one State as compared to other States.”
Annie Raja of the National Federation for Indian Women highlighted the importance of the process of social audit provisioning under NREGA, and how it has proven to be a compromise to eliminate corruption in NREGA.

% of initial budget spent in clearing past dues

For this, she gave examples of successful social audits done in the early days, criticising the Central government for not allocating any budget for social audit. Yet, she complained, without doing social audit, the Centre is accusing States of corruption for not giving money, which is completely contradictory.
Vijay from PAEG, talking about the ongoing havoc of the NMMS app, said, not only the government does not pay the workers for the work done on time, it is seeking to make attendance mandatory through the NMMS app, which makes it mandatory for workers to have Android mobiles. It is like a double whammy on the workers.
On the other hand, he added, there is no system to register attendance offline as an alternative to online attendance, due to which attendance missed due to lack of network in rural areas is not recorded again. In this way, a large number of labourers are being deprived of their right to work.
---
Click here for the detailed statement, here for video testimonies

Comments

'Tax the top': Nationwide protests demand action as 1% control 40% of India’s wealth

By A Representative Civil rights groups across the country observed the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh on March 23, as people from diverse backgrounds united to raise their voices against growing economic inequality. The mobilisations marked the launch of a nationwide campaign against inequality, running from March 23 to April 14 (Ambedkar Jayanti), under the banner of the “Tax The Top” campaign.

Fair prices, fresh produce: Vegetable market opens in Rajasthan tribal village

By Vikas Meshram* On 18 March 2026, the tribal village of Sajjangarh in southern Rajasthan witnessed the grand and dignified inauguration of a new vegetable market (mandi). Established through the tireless joint efforts of the Krushi Avam Adivasi Swaraj Sangathan (Bhilkuaan) and Vaagdhara, under the active leadership of the Gram Panchayat of Sajjangarh, the market is being hailed as a cornerstone for local self-governance, self-reliance, and a sustainable rural economy.

Gujarat cadre to HDFC: When bureaucratic style hits corporate walls

By Rajiv Shah I was a little amused by the abrupt March 17, 2026 resignation of Atanu Chakraborty —a Gujarat cadre IAS officer of the 1985 batch who retired from the government in 2020—as chairman of HDFC Bank . Much of what may have led to his decision to quit this ostensibly high post—actually a non-executive, part-time role—is by now well known. I followed most of it online with considerable interest, partly because I had interacted with him umpteen times during my stint as The Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar from 1997 to 2012.

Beyond India-China borders: Economic links expand, political gaps persist

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* Despite growing trade between India and China, a persistent trust deficit continues to shape their bilateral relationship. Expanding economic engagement has not fully resolved political differences, many of which stem from historical legacies as well as contemporary geopolitical concerns. Border disputes—often traced to colonial-era arrangements—remain a significant obstacle to deeper cooperation, while differing strategic alignments in global affairs add further complexity.

Ex-IAS Atanu Chakraborty and a tale of two different Gujarat vision documents

By Rajiv Shah The likely appointment of Atanu Chakraborty as HDFC Bank chairman interested me for several reasons, but above all because I have interacted with him closely during my more than 14 year stint in Gandhinagar for the “Times of India”. One of the few decent Gujarat cadre bureaucrats, Chakraborty, belonging to the 1985 IAS batch, at least till I covered Sachivalaya was surely above controversies. He loved to remain faceless, never desired publicity, was professional to the core, and never indulged in loose talk. When he neared retirement, which happened in April 2020, first there were rumours in Sachivalaya that he would be appointed SEBI chairman, and then there was talk he would be chairman (or was it CEO?) of Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City (a dream project of Narendra Modi as Gujarat chief minister, which as Prime Minister Modi wants to promote, come what may). But, for some strange reasons, and I don’t know why, none of this happened, despite the fact...

Witnessing Iran beyond propaganda: Truth, war, and the path beyond western paradigm

By Naile Manjarrés On June 23, 2025—marked as the 2nd of Tir, 1404, on the Persian calendar—a ceasefire between Iran and Israel was announced. This "night of the decree" shifted the trajectory of global affairs; although the world may appear unchanged on the surface, we have yet to fully grasp its impact.

Operation Epic Fury: Making America great at the world’s expense?

By N.S. Venkataraman* The decades-long enmity between Iran and Israel is well-documented, but historically, their direct confrontations have been brief, constrained by the logistical and economic limitations of sustained warfare. The current conflict in the Middle East, however, marks a radical and dangerous departure from this pattern.

Study links sanctions to 500,000 deaths annually leading to rise in global backlash

By Bharat Dogra International opinion is increasingly turning against the expanding burden of sanctions imposed on a growing number of countries. These measures are contributing to humanitarian crises, intensifying domestic discord, and heightening international tensions, thereby increasing the risks of conflicts and wars.

Environmental expert urges policy overhaul as forest and water resources face critical decline

By A Representative On the occasion of World Forest Day and World Water Day , observed on March 21 and 22, environmental voices from the Western Ghats have issued a stark warning to the Union government, calling for an urgent paradigm shift in how India manages its interconnected natural resources. In a formal communication addressed to Union Minister for Jal Shakti , Sri C R Patil , and Union Minister for Forest, Environment and Climate Change , Sri Bhupendra Yadav , policy analyst Shankar Sharma has highlighted a growing disconnect between sectoral policies and the holistic reality of resource governance.

Search This Blog