The Centre has reiterated its commitment to release funds for wage and material payments for the proper implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA). The scheme provides a guarantee of at least 100 days of wage employment against the demand made by a household in a rural area. Rural Development Ministry in a statement said that during the current financial year so far more than 240 crore person-days has been generated as per the demand by the beneficiaries.
It said, there has been increase of more than 18 per cent of funds allocated for the current financial year in comparison to previous financial year as budget estimate. During the current Financial Year 2021-22, so far more than 68 thousand 568 crore rupees have been released for the implementation of the scheme in the States and UTs. It said, recently, the Ministry of Finance allocated additional funds of 10 thousand crore rupees for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA as an interim measure, and further, allocation may be made upon assessment of demand during the Revised Estimate stage.
