MGNREGA 'chronically underfunded' for last 11 years to 'throttle' scheme: Congress

Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh asserted that Friday marked the twentieth anniversary of MGNREGA formally becoming a law.

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday alleged that MGNREGA has been "chronically underfunded" by the Modi government, making a "mockery" of the scheme’s demand-driven vision, and reiterated its demand of significant budget enhancement and a minimum wage of Rs 400 per day to kickstart real income growth.

"On a day when we should recall the many achievements of the world’s largest social welfare scheme, we must instead grapple with the scheme’s very uncertain future under this government," Ramesh said on X.

The finance ministry’s regulations prohibit government schemes from spending more than 60 per cent of the budgeted expenditure in the first half of the financial year, he said.

"The ministry has blown through 60 per cent of its budget within five months itself, leaving a question mark on what the future holds for crores of India’s rural families," Ramesh said.

He said this "latest crisis" is not an aberration but a reflection of a larger attempt by the Modi government to throttle MGNREGA.

"MGNREGA has been chronically underfunded for the last eleven years, and the budget has stayed constant for the last three years despite high inflation. This makes a mockery of the scheme’s demand-driven vision and leaves crores of workers unable to secure work when they need it," Ramesh said.

He claimed payments to workers are routinely delayed way past the statutory period of 15 days without compensation.

Ramesh said 20-30 per cent of MGNREGA’s budget every year goes to clearing the previous year’s dues.

MGNREGA wages have barely been raised in the last eleven years, resulting in a wider crisis of stagnant income, he said.

"In the name of transparency and accountability, the government has introduced exclusionary technology like the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app and the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS). Estimates suggest that this has prevented over two crore workers from securing their legal right to work and payment," the Congress leader said.

Noting that the Congress' demands have been consistent, Ramesh said it has called for significant budget enhancement and stricter implementation of the policy on timely payment of wages.

The Congress has also demanded a minimum MGNREGA wage of Rs 400 per day to kickstart real income growth, he said.

Ramesh pointed out that the Congress has also demanded the constitution of a Standing Committee to set MGNREGA wages in the future.

The party has also called for an immediate halt to the mandatory adoption of "exclusionary technology" like ABPS and NMMS, he said.