Skip to main content

GoI's 2023-24 NREGA allocation 'lowest ever', 0.198% of GDP; just 4% of funds remain

Counterview Desk 
The National NREGA Convention, organised by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha in New Delhi on 3-4 October, has accused the Government of India (GoI) of systematically destroying the rural jobs scheme in order to bing the programme to its knees by resorting to budget cuts, inordinate delays in wage payments and arbitrary imposition of opaque and inaccessible technologies.
Pointing towards how NREGA has been completely shutdown in West Bengal for over 18 months as a result of stoppage of funds by the Central government citing corruption issue, the Morcha in a statement said, "This step is more political than legal, given the Centre has not conducted any investigation, registered any complaint against complicit officials or made any attempt to fight implementation-level leakages in the State."

Text:

The First National NREGA Convention was held in New Delhi on 3-4 October 2023 by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha. The convention saw participation of over 200 delegates from 15 states, including NREGA workers, activists, researchers, lawyers and students. Deeply committed to the universal right to livelihood, the delegates discussed the various issues affecting the functioning of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (NREGA) and deliberated upon ways for implementation of the NREGA in the true spirit of the law. 
Sai Balaji (AICCTU), Aparna (IFTU), Manju (Amazon India Workers’ Association), Sukumar Dhamle (AITUC) and Vikram (All India Agricultural Workers’ Union), Richa Singh (Sangatin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan), Hannan Mollah (All India Kisan Sabha), V Sivadasan (AIAWU) and Navsharan Singh addressed the delegates and extended solidarity to the fight of NREGA workers across the country.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data shows that the unemployment rate in rural India is at a two-year high of 8.73%. In spite of this, the Central Government has taken several steps towards the systematic destruction of NREGA that have brought the programme to its knees, such as budget cuts, inordinate delays in wage payments and arbitrary imposition of opaque and inaccessible technologies i.e. National Monitoring Management System (NMMS) and Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS). 
For instance, only Rs. 60,00 crores have been allocated to NREGA for FY 2023-24 despite pre-budget estimates coming up to Rs 89,400 crore. This is a mere 0.198% of GDP -- the lowest ever in the history of NREGA, and as of 4 October 2023, less than 4% of the NREGA budget remains. Moreover, the NREGA wage rate is lower than the agricultural wage rate in 90% of the states, with Madhya Pradesh’s being the lowest at Rs. 221 and relatively poorer states like Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand at Rs. 228.
In addition, NREGA has been in complete shutdown in West Bengal for over 18 months (since December 2021) as a result of a complete stoppage of funds by the Central government citing corruption issues. However, this step is more political than legal, given the Centre has not conducted any investigation, registered any complaint against complicit officials or made any attempt to fight implementation-level leakages in the state. 
As many as 30 leaders from Trinamool Congress, including sitting MPs Mahua Moitra and Abhishek Bannerjee, were protesting against this very issue at Krishi Bhawan on 3 October 2023 when they were forcibly removed by the Delhi Police, adding to the ever-growing list of concerted attacks on the fundamental right to free speech and peaceful protest in the world’s largest democracy.
Morcha will take up BJP Hatao NREGA Bachao campaign keeping in view the 2024 general elections
After two days of detailed discussions on the various issues plaguing the NREGA, the delegates adopted the following resolutions to conclude the First National NREGA Convention:
1. The following minimum steps ought to be guaranteed by the Central Government to keep the NREGA alive:
1.1. Allocation of adequate budget and timely release of funds to ensure work demand is met and wages are paid in time.
1.2. In line with rising prices, MGNREGA wage rate must be increased to Rs. 800 per day (or at the very minimum, brought on par with states’ agricultural wage rates).
1.3. Work days guaranteed per year must be increased to 200.
1.4. Fighting corruption by enhancing people’s participation and vigilance as opposed to imposing highly-centralised technological solutions like NMMS and ABPS. Instead, regular and independent social audits must be conducted, workers must be provided daily payslips showing the amount of work done and wages due, and monthly gram sabhas must be organised for announcing muster rolls, passing of NREGA accounts, and planning new works.
2. To fight the ongoing unemployment crisis in the country, an urban employment guarantee programme must also be initiated guaranteeing a minimum 200 days of work per year for the urban unemployed.
3. Repeated appeals and attempts at dialogue with the Central Government to highlight policy issues in NREGA have failed. However, the Morcha will put forward its concerns and suggestions to the Central Government one last time, as well as bring them to the attention of the ruling party (BJP) and the INDIA alliance.
4. Should the Modi government fail to meet the above list of non-negotiables, the Morcha will take up a campaign of “BJP Hatao, NREGA Bachao!” keeping in view the 2024 general elections.
5. To this end, the Morcha will conduct village-level activities and gram sabhas in every village where it has roots so as to ensure that no NREGA worker votes for the BJP in 2024. Further, the Morcha will organise nation-wide action and sit in protest in Delhi during the winter session of the Parliament in December 2023.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Modi’s Israel visit strengthened Pakistan’s hand in US–Iran truce: Ex-Indian diplomat

By Jag Jivan   M. K. Bhadrakumar , a career diplomat with three decades of service in postings across the former Soviet Union, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey, has warned that the current truce in the US–Iran war is “fragile and ridden with contradictions.” Writing in his blog India Punchline , Bhadrakumar argues that while Pakistan has emerged as a surprising broker of dialogue, the durability of the ceasefire remains uncertain.
Post a Comment
»

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.
Post a Comment
»

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”
Post a Comment
»

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai*  The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.
Post a Comment
»

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.
Post a Comment
»

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

​ By Syed Ali Mujtaba*  ​The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.
Post a Comment
»

Lata Mangeshkar, a Dalit from Devdasi family, 'refused to sing a song' about Ambedkar

By Pramod Ranjan*  An artist is known and respected for her art. But she is equally, or even more so known and respected for her social concerns. An artist's social concerns or in other words, her worldview, give a direction and purpose to her art. History remembers only such artists whose social concerns are deep, reasoned and of durable importance. Lata Mangeshkar (28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a celebrated playback singer of the Hindi film industry. She was the uncrowned queen of Indian music for over seven decades. Her popularity was unmatched. Her songs were heard and admired not only in India but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other South Asian countries. In this article, we will focus on her social concerns. Lata lived for 92 long years. Music ran in her blood. Her father also belonged to the world of music. Her two sisters, Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, are well-known singers. Lata might have been born in Indore but the blood of a famous Devdasi family...
2 comments
»

'Batteries now cheap enough for solar to meet India's 90% demand': Expert quotes Ember study

By A Representative   Shankar Sharma, Power & Climate Policy Analyst, has urged India’s top policymakers to reconsider the financial and ecological implications of the country’s energy transition strategy in light of recent global developments. In a letter dated April 10, 2026, addressed to the Union Ministers of Finance, Power, New & Renewable Energy, Environment, Forest & Climate Change, and the Vice Chair of NITI Aayog, with a copy to the Prime Minister, Sharma highlighted concerns over India’s ambitious plans for coal gasification and the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).
Post a Comment
»

Labour unrest in Manesar trigger tensions: Recently enacted labour codes blamed

By A Representative   A civil rights coalition has expressed concern over recent developments in the industrial hub of Manesar in Haryana, where a series of labour actions and police responses have drawn attention. A statement, released by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR), said it stood in solidarity with workers in IMT Manesar and other parts of the country, while also alleging instances of police excess during ongoing unrest.
Post a Comment
»