For MNREGS, the rural employment guarantee scheme, the budgetary allocation has remained equal to last fiscal’s at Rs 73,000 crore despite RE for FY22 coming in at nearly Rs 98,000 crore.
The allocation for the ministry of rural development has increased by just 3.36 percent to Rs 135,944 crore in the Union Budget 2022-23 from Rs 131,519 crore BE in 2021-22.
In FY22, the ministry was allocated nearly Rs 22,000 crore more in the revised estimates so there is a reasonable assumption that in the next fiscal too, the government may loosen purse strings to fund key schemes being helmed by this ministry.
For MNREGS, the rural employment guarantee scheme, the budgetary allocation has remained equal to last fiscal’s at Rs 73,000 crore despite RE for FY22 coming in at nearly Rs 98,000 crore.
The rural development ministry is responsible for the UPA-era Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), which continues to be the bulwark of the government’s rural development initiatives.
The scheme promises 100 days of work to the rural poor. In 2020-21, during the first year of the pandemic, demand for work under this scheme surged sharply as livelihoods were threatened during the long, nationwide lockdown, compelling migrant labourers to seek work back in their villages.
The latest data show that demand for work has remained robust this fiscal, too, prompting activists to demand a higher allocation for the scheme in the upcoming Union Budget.
Rs 3.62 lakh Crore Allocation Sought
The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha sought an allocation of Rs 3.62 lakh crore, the highest ever, in the 2022-23 budget.
More than 50 paise of every rupee of budgetary allocation to the department of rural development (which helms this programme) is spent on MNREGS. In 2020-21, when widespread lockdowns forced migrant workers to return to villages and seek work under MNREGS, the allocation had to be raised to Rs 1.11 lakh crore at the revised estimate (RE) stage, the highest till then.
But the budgetary estimate (BE) for 2021-22 was still Rs 73,000 crore, and, subsequently, the Centre had to allocate more funds.
Timely Payment an Issue
Since 2015-16, the second year of the NDA government’s first term, the annual budgetary allocation has never been sufficient to provide work for all those who sought work under the scheme.
The RE figure has always exceeded those of the BE. For 2022-23, activists demanded record allocation at the BE stage itself, since the demand for work in rural areas remained high and not everyone who gets work is paid on time.
Arrears of the previous year get settled after the BE amount arrives. Also, while the Act guarantees 100 days of work to every willing rural household, employment has been provided for less than 50 days a year in the last five years.
As on date, less than 10 percent of BE for FY22 is left for MNREGS for the next two months. Activists are also seeking to double the number of guaranteed work days to 200.
Wage differentials in states
The festering issue of different wage rates in different states and UTs persists. Also, wages under MNREGS in some states remain below the minimum wage of that state.
If there is a political will to correct this skew, the government could set up a committee to align the wages paid under MNREGS with minimum wages across states. Till then, however, increased budgetary allocation and pushing for timely wage payments is the only solution.
Apart from helming MNREGS, the Department of Rural Development (under the ministry by the same name) is responsible for formulating and implementing policies on poverty alleviation, employment generation, rural infrastructure and rural housing.
After a record allocation in 2020-21, the budgetary allocation for this department had been slashed by nearly a third in the current fiscal.
As per an analysis by PRS Legislative, the expenditure of the department grew 11.3 percent annually in the last decade. In 2020-21, the department was allocated Rs 120,147 crore, which increased by two-thirds or Rs 77,229 crore, at the RE stage.
Apart from MNREGS, some of the prominent welfare schemes this department helms are the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY).
