The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has recommended an independent survey to assess the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), and its shortcomings.
| Photo Credit: M A SRIRAM
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has recommended an independent survey to assess the effectiveness of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), and its shortcomings. This survey, the panel said, should focus on worker satisfaction, wage delays, participation trends, and financial irregularities within the scheme.
The panel’s report was tabled on April 4, the last day of the recently concluded Budget Session of Parliament. The panel, headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, has argued that such a survey should focus on the necessary policy reforms, and should be introduced based on the insights from the survey.
The panel also said that, despite the stated objective of the scheme to uplift marginalised communities, the participation of workers from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and women workers, remained “inconsistent across districts”. “A district-wise study must be conducted to ensure that these communities receive equal work opportunities and benefits under the scheme, thereby fulfilling its intended goal of social and economic inclusion,” the panel’s report said.
The panel also stressed on the need to revamp the scheme, keeping in view the “changing times and emerging challenges”. “This committee urges the ministry to explore the options that could increase the number of guaranteed working days under MGNREGA to at least 150 days from the current 100 days,” the panel’s report said.
In 2022, the government had appointed a panel headed by former Rural Development Secretary Amarjeet Sinha to review the scheme, especially the inter-State variations. It has been argued that MGNREGA was launched as a poverty alleviation instrument for rural regions, providing them with a safety net in the form of guaranteed work and wages, and has failed in its purpose, since the expenditure is lower in States with higher poverty rates, including Bihar, when compared with economically better-off States, including Tamil Nadu. This panel submitted its report in 2023 but its suggestions are yet to be implemented.
The parliamentary panel also pointed out that the scheme has been plagued by chronic delays in wage payments, leading to uncertainty for the workers. It has recommended that the current compensation rate for delayed wages, which is 0.05 % of unpaid wages, should be increased. The Committee strongly recommended that timely disbursement of these payments was essential to maintain trust in the scheme and ensure uninterrupted execution of work.
Published – April 13, 2025 07:51 pm IST