mgnregs update - foundation for ecological...

Initiative towards Energizing MGNREGA. ……………

89% MGNREGA wages paid within 15 days: Govt

May 17, 2017 10:36 PM IST | Source: PTI

Timely payment of wages under Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

(MGNREGA) has been a major concern for the

government from some time.

The government today said it has paid 89 per cent of

wages to workers under the MGNREGA scheme

within 15 days of the work done.

Timely payment of wages under Mahatma Gandhi


(MGNREGA) has been a major concern for the

government from some time.

Union Rural Development Ministry in partnership with

the state government has been trying to ensure timely

payment of wages to the MGNREGA workers.

"In the current financial year, 20.88 crore person days

of work has been generated so far. 89.08 percent of

wage payments have been made within 15 days of

work done," Rural Development Ministry said in a

statement.

22 states including Puducherry received wage payment

directly through National Electronic Fund

Management System.

MGNREGS UPDATE News for Internal Circulation No. 67/ May 16, 2017 – May 31, 2017 Foundation for Ecological Security

Inside News

• First month of new fiscal sees sharp rise in MGNREGS payout

• States asked to complete NREGA FY17 audit by September

• Bid to reduce gap between MGNREGA, state wages

• Jammu gets lion’s share under MNREGA • Glitch in govt. transfers delays Rs.3045 cr in

NREGA wages • Modi government generated 813 crore man-days

of rural work in 3 years: Tomar • 1 L Dovas geo-tagged for scrutiny in J’khand • Odisha govt takes MGNREGS route to build

Anganwadis • Clear MGNREGS wagearrears, Centre urged

Articles

• Few takers for rural job scheme • Three years of Modi: Rural jobs rise as 8.13 bn

person-days of work created • MNREGA: Priority given to water conservation

Government Order

• Violation of the Provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and Information Technology Act, 2000.

• Review cum Orientation Meeting of BFT program.

• Nomination to Participate in SAKSHAM launch on 19th June 17, Vigyan Bhawan


The Centre along with states is working on the direct

transfer of wages into the bank accounts of the

workers.

Over 85 percent of active MGNREGA workers have

their Aadhaar details seeded with their consent and

4.85 crores workers are already on the Aadhaar

payment bridge linked Bank accounts, it added.

The thrust of the MGNREGA is on water conservation

and states have adopted mission water conservation

guidelines to focus on 2,264 water stressed and

irrigation deficient blocks of the country.

Emphasising on the asset creation, the ministry is

making all efforts to create durable assets and provide

employment on demand.

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/economy/89-

mgnrega-wages-paid-within-15-days-govt-2282201.html

First month of new fiscal sees sharp rise in

MGNREGS payout

TNN | May 18, 2017, 04.48 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Timely wage payments under the rural

job guarantee scheme have clocked a sharp rise in the

first month of the financial year, raising hopes of

checking a major malaise that has been plaguing the

flagship employment programme.

As per figures released by the rural development

ministry, 89.08% of wage payments have been made

within 15 days of the work done in 2017. The

MGNREGA law stipulates that payments to workers

be made within a fortnight of work done and every

day's delay attracts penalty to be paid as compensation.

The delay has been high over the years, with just

around 43% of timely payments registered in 2016, a

senior official said.

In contrast, 89.08% of wage payments have been made

in 2017, which means April and the first fortnight of

May during which 20.88 crore person days of work

has been generated.

The Centre is keeping an alert eye on the closure of

muster rolls following completion of work under the

job scheme - the time when the financial orders are

raised. The ministry has been reminding the states

about the completion of muster rolls and nudging them

about payments.

Officials claimed the delay has also been on account of

failure of states to submit the audits and the financial

statements on time. In such cases, the RD ministry has

told the states that they should make payments against

which the Centre will release the money as soon as

their financial documents are submitted.

The RD ministry is hopeful of maintaining a high rate

of timely payments, with forecast of a timely and good

monsoon likely to ease the pressure on the scheme.

MGNREGA registers high demand of work in times of

delayed monsoon or drought. "The ministry is

continuously striving in partnership with states to

ensure timely payment of wages to MGNREGA

workers directly into their Aadhar linked bank

accounts," the official statement said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/first-month-of-new-fiscal-

sees-sharp-rise-in-mgnregs-payout/articleshow/58725640.cms

States asked to complete NREGA FY17 audit by

September

By Ruchika Chitravanshi


NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked all states to finish

the financial audit of the Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

for 2016-17 by September this year so that the

remaining amount allocated to the scheme can be

released early.

(For the current fiscal, the government had disbursed

Rs 23,443 crore, or half of the 2017-18 budget

allocation for MGNREGS, to the states in April.)

Delay in the financial audit of MGNREGS, the

government’s flagship rural job guarantee scheme, is

the key reason why several states have not been getting

funds under the scheme on time. For instance, the

Centre could transfer funds for 2016-17 to Bihar only

in March this year because the state provided the audit

report late.

For the current fiscal, the government had disbursed

Rs 23,443 crore, or half of the 2017-18 budget

allocation for MGNREGS, to the states in April.

However, the remaining amount cannot be released till

the scheme’s audit reports are in.

“We cannot transfer funds beyond 50% of the budget

without receiving a financial statement of the previous

year. By giving funds in advance we can ensure timely

payments, which is our top priority for MGNREGS

this year,” a senior official told ET.

The rural development ministry has also explained this

constraint to the Supreme Court, which had pulled up

the Centre last year for not providing timely wages to

the poor under NREGS. Two successive years of

drought had added to the woes of those who had not

received pay under MGNREGS.

According to government data, in the current financial

year, 20.9 crore person days of work have been

generated so far and 89% of wage payments have been

made within 15 days of work done, as mandated by the

Act (MGNREGA) governing the scheme. In 2016-17,

only 47% of the total payments were made within the

stipulated 15 days.

The ministry has also drawn up alist of states

accounting for maximum transactions and delays so as

to sharpen its focus on timely payments. Nearly 95%

of the transactions are done by 17 states. Tamil Nadu,

which draws 20% of MGNREGS funds, the maximum

among all states, reported delays in more than 90%

payments during the financial year.

The government has also ordered an evaluation of over

80 lakh hectare of water conservation work done under

MGNREGA in 2015-17. The exercise is being

undertaken by the Institute of Economic Growth and

the final report would be available by September 30,

2017. “It will help us undertake any mid-course

correction if required. The study will also spot lagging

states and guide us about the technical specifications

and if they need to be changed,” the official cited

earlier said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/states-

asked-to-complete-nrega-fy17-audit-by-

september/articleshow/58756560.cms


Bid to reduce gap between MGNREGA, state

wages

By Ruchika ChitravanshiET Bureau | Updated: May

23, 2017, 01.01 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Faced with criticism over the meagre

hike in wages for its flagship rural jobs programme,

the Centre is looking to align both the Mahatma

Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act and the

minimum wages in states to the consumer price index

or CPI.

(The committee will consult states on switching from

CPI for agricultural labour to CPI for rural areas and

linking it to minimum wages for states.)

Officials said the government wants to reduce the gap

between the minimum wages in states and those under

MGNREGA. A new committee comprising state

secretaries has been formed to examine the

recommendations made by the Mahendra Dev

Committee last year on wage calculation to suggest

changes in methodology.

Headed by Nagesh Singh, additional secretary in rural

development ministry, the committee will consult

states on switching from CPI for agricultural labour to

CPI for rural areas and linking it to minimum wages

for states. “States do not follow any standard price

index to revise wages… If we revise MGNREGA

wage calculation, states should also follow the same

process to avoid discrepancies and comparisons in

future,” a senior official said, requesting not to be

identified.

The average wages under the scheme were increased

2.7% for 2017-18 following the changes in CPI for

agricultural labour. For several states including Uttar

Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand this

translated to a mere Re 1 hike in wages. “This was

because 60% weight is for food items in the index, the

cost of which comes down a lot for the rural poor and

so inflationary trend does not get captured,” the

official said.

The rural development ministry is keen on a mid-

course correction in the MGNREGA wage rate once

the recommendation of the new committee formed is

approved by the finance ministry. However, the

committee has suggested getting the states on board

for adopting the same price index to build parity in

wage rates.

According to government data, in the current financial

year 20.88 crore person days of work has been

generated so far and 89% of wage payments have been

made within 15 days of work done as mandated by

MGNREGA. The committee is also studying the


financial impact of switching the price index for wage

calculation for the scheme and is likely to make a

presentation to the finance ministry next month with

its final recommendations.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/bid-to-

reduce-gap-between-mgnrega-state-

wages/articleshow/58797013.cms

Jammu gets lion’s share under MNREGA

Of Rs 552, only Rs 178 crore sanctioned for Kashmir

BK Web Desk/Srinagar, May 27, 2017

Jammu Kashmir Government has sanctioned more

funds to Jammu Division as compared to Kashmir to

implement different schemes under Mahatma Gandhi


(MGNREGA) for current financial year 2017-18.

Well placed sources said that Rs 374 crore has gone

into the kitty of Jammu Divisions while peanuts (Rs

178 crore) have been sanctioned for Kashmir Division.

The ironical part is that as compared to whooping Rs

55 crore sanctioned to Jammu district, Srinagar has

been awarded only Rs one crore. Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act” (or,

MGNREGA), is a labour law and social security

measure that aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’. It

aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by

providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a

financial year to every household whose adult

members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

Sources said that Rural Development and Panchayati

Raj Department in a bid to implement MGNREGA

schemes in Jammu and Kashmir has sanctioned Rs 570

crore out of which Jammu has got Rs 374 crore,

Kashmir Rs 178 crore and Rs 18 crore has been

sanctioned for the Ladakh region.

The fund distribution district wise data reveals that

Srinagar has been allotted Rs one crore, Jammu Rs 55

crore, Anantnag Rs 45 crore, Budgam 12 crore,

Bandipora 6 crore, Baramulla 18 crore, Ganderbal 13

crore, Kulgam and Kupwara Rs 33 crore each,

Pulwama 10 crore, Shopian 7 crore, Samba Rs 6 crore,

Reasi Rs 30 crore, Kathua Rs 18 crore, Kishtwar Rs 70

crore, Poonch Rs 37 crore, Rajouri Rs 56 crore,

Ramban 12 crore, Udhampur Rs 20 crore, Kargil Rs 6

crore and Leh has been allotted Rs 12 crore.

Castigating Rural Development Ministry for resorting

to discrimination, Kashmiri employees told CNS that

major gap in fund distribution is aimed at to provide

salaries to those people in Jammu who have illegally

been adjusted in the department.

“The funds that are made available to Block

Development Offices are being spent on the official

tours of bureaucrats and ministers. The expenditure

incurring on the tour and travels of these top officials

is borne by employees working under MGNREGA,”

they said. (CNS)

http://brighterkashmir.com/jammu-gets-lions-share-under-mnrega/

Glitch in govt. transfers delays Rs.3045 cr in

NREGA wages

Special Correspondent, NEW DELHI, May 26, 2017

21:03 IST, Updated: May 26, 2017 21:03 IST

Kerala, Uttarakhand worst hit as no pay orders have

been cleared since April 15

Delays in the payment of National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (NREGA) wages have mounted


drastically in April-May 2017, as Fund Transfer

Orders (FTOs) worth �3,045 crore are yet to be

processed by the central government’s National

Electronic Fund Management System (NEFMS).

(Village women work under MGNREGA scheme at

Jagannath Prasad village in Ganjam district, Orissa).

According to data collated from the NREGA website

by the NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, a platform that

tracks the implementation of the workfare programme,

63% of the unprocessed FTOs were generated in

April-May. The processing delay was highest in the

cases of Kerala and Uttarakhand, where no FTOs have

been processed since April 15.

This follows another period of 20 days in March-April

2017 when no FTOs were processed by the Centre.

Eligible for compensation

As per Schedule II of the Act, an NREGA worker must

be paid within 15 days of completing his allocated

tasks. A delay in payment, for which the worker must

be compensated, has to be calculated from the 16th

day after task completion, till the time the money is

credited in the worker’s account.

A note released by the NREGA Sangharsh Manch

pointed out that the NREGA Management Information

System (MIS) has been programmed to calculate the

compensation in a flawed manner. It calculates the

delay only till the second signature on the FTO from

the state government, after which the pay order goes to

the central government for processing.

Systemic failure

“According to a recent study, it takes, on an average,

up to 25 days for the payment to reach the worker even

after the FTO has been signed,” said Ankita Aggarwal

of the NREGA Sangharsh Manch. “But this delay and

unexplained delays such as the one caused by the

current non-processing of the FTOs, is not accounted

for in the system.”

The Ministry of Rural Development has so far not

provided any explanation for the irregularities in the

FTO processing nor the flawed calculation of the

payment delays.

The FTOs haven’t been processed since May 2 in the

case of Karnataka, since May 8 for Bihar, Jharkhand

and Rajasthan, and May 5 for Himachal Pradesh. This

has resulted in workers in these States not having been

paid more than 15 days after completion of work.

However, the NREGA MIS (management infomation

system) does not capture this delay denying them

compensation.

“The government must adopt a system for NREGA

payments that is reliable and not vulnerable to gross

irregularities such as repeated delays in the processing

of FTOs,” Ms Aggarwal said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/glitch-in-govt-transfers-

delays-3045-cr-in-nrega-wages/article18585704.ece

Modi government generated 813 crore man-days of

rural work in 3 years: Tomar


IANS | New Delhi May 27, 2017 Last Updated at

22:22 IST

The government created rural employment

opportunities of more than 813 crore man-days during

the last three years under MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri

AawasYojna, Grameen (PMAY-G) and Pradhan

Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) schemes, Union

Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar

said on Saturday.

"During the last three years while 636.78 crore person

days were generated under MGNEREGA, about 78

crore person days were under PMGSY and 99 crore

person days under PMAY," said Tomar, briefing

mediapersons here.

He said under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay-Grameen

Kaushal Yojana (DDY-GKY), 86,120 candidates were

trained in 2014-15 and 54,196 got jobs.

"In 2015-16, about 135,000 candidates got placement

after skill training, while in 2016-17, the number of

candidates getting placement is 84,900," he added.

He said that Rural Self Employment Training Institute

(RSETIs) trained 400,000 rural youth in 2016-17 for

Self Employment.

According to the ministry, under MGNREGA during

2016-17, more than 1.23 crore assets have been geo-

tagged and placed in public domain and about 96 per

cent of wage payments were electronically credited

into the accounts of the workers through DBT system.

"So far, 8.73 crore Aadhar number of workers have

been seeded in NREGASoft (MIS) and 4.73 have been

enabled for Aadhar Based Payment with their

consent," said the Minister.

Under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna (PMGSY),

the Minister said that the pace of construction of roads

has reached a record of 130 km per day.

"This is the highest average annual construction rate in

the last seven years, with a record 47,447 km of

PMGSY roads constructed during 2016-17 connecting

11,641 habitations. This implies providing

connectivity of an average of 32 habitations every

day," said Tomar.

Tomar further said providing safe drinking water is

one of the top most priority of the government and it is

committed to providing tap water on a sustained basis

in every household by 2030 as per the United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals.

"About Rs 23,000 crore of central fund will be

required annually till the target is achieved," he said.

Referring to the launch of National Water Quality Sub-

Mission on Arsenic and Fluoride, Tomar said about

28,000 affected habitations in the country will be

provided safe drinking water by March 2021 with an

outlay of Rs 25,000 crore.

"Sanitation coverage has increased from 42 per cent in

2014 to 64 per cent in the current year and more that

four crore toilets were constructed," he said.

Under the 14th Finance Commission, the Centre will

be releasing more than Rs 2 lakh crore to Gram

Panchayats for 5 years to undertake physical and social

infrastructure projects in the villages.

"So far, Rs 51,234 crore was allocated to the states and

44 lakh panchayat functionaries were provided

training," Tomar said.


http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/modi-

government-generated-813-crore-man-days-of-rural-work-in-3-

years-tomar-117052701223_1.html

1 L Dovas geo-tagged for scrutiny in J’khand

Tuesday, 30 May 2017 | SANTOSH NARAYAN |

Ranchi | in Ranchi

Jharkhand has acted promptly on the advice of the

Centre and went ahead geo-tagging all the assets

coming up under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Scheme (MGNREGA). Most

importantly, the newly found water conservation

structure, Dovas or small farm ponds, dug widely

across Jharkhand during the last year have made its

space prominently.

Latest information suggest that out of about seven lakh

structures being built through the rural job scheme

nearly five lakh of those have been geo-tagged.

“Nearly seven lakh personal assets have been created

in the State and five lakh of those have been tagged

with IDs. Notably, over one lakh Dovas have been

geo-tagged and uploaded with their pictures on the

‘Bhuvan’ website of the Rural Development Ministry,”

said MGNREGA Commissioner Siddharth Tripathi

referring to the ISRO build website meant for such

purposes.

Important to note here that the State quite notorious for

embezzlement into MGNREGA works has since then

improved its tally in the country in terms of assets

creation through the scheme and also in delivering

payments to labourers.

“Dovas have come up mostly in dry zones of the State

where water conservation and watershed management

were utmost priority. But we had to ensure that work is

done on ground and for that nothing could have been

more transparent than geo-tagging of the structure. It

not only uploads picture of the Dova along with

latitude and longitude but names of the beneficiaries as

well,” added the official.

Earlier, the Government had assigned the job to the

Jharkhand Space Application Centre but soon handed

it over to the Rural Development Department at the

behest of the Centre. Now, the technical edge has also

brought some new ideas for the Department to act

upon.

“We have been able to reduce uses of machines into

Dova construction by 95 per cent in the State, thanks

to this geo-tagging. It has provided an upper hand to us

in terms of vigilance. Officials have caught several

cases of deviation from the guidelines and use of

heavy machines in digging up Dovas and action has

been taken against those persons,” said a senior official

who himself was part of some surveys the Department

has conducted since the scheme was entirely handed

over to it by sidelining the Agriculture Department.

Though this year there is no clear target for making the

small farm ponds in the State as of now but the Rural

Development Department has prepared to shift genre

of the rural jobs scheme.

“For coming days we are to transform the MGNREGA

largely into a watershed development programme.

MGNREGA has infrastructure for work but without

technical knowhow and watershed management

programme has technical expertise. We have decided

to make a bond of the two which is going to be

implemented this year,” said Tripathi.

http://www.dailypioneer.com/state-editions/ranchi/1-l-dovas-geo-

tagged-for-scrutiny-in-jkhand.html


Odisha govt takes MGNREGS route to build

Anganwadis

By Express News Service | Published: 31st May 2017

07:18 AM | Last Updated: 31st May 2017 07:18 AM

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has set a

target to construct 24,481 Anganwadi centres (AWCs)

by 2018-19 in convergence with Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS).Administrative approval was accorded

for construction of 14,569 AWCs under the

convergence programme to tide over financial

constraints due to stoppage of Central assistance.

However, the progress is not very encouraging.

While 1,121 AWC buildings were constructed under

convergence scheme in 2015-26, an additional 2,307

buildings were completed in 2016-17, official sources

said. Construction progress of AWCs was reviewed at

the State Empowered Programme Committee meeting

held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya

Prasad Padhi in the Secretariat here. Annual

Programme Implementation Plan (APIP) of around

`2,278.14 crore for Integrated Child Development

Programme was approved for 2017-18.

The APIP approved for 2017-18 would be

implemented with fund support from both the Central

and State Government. The funding ratio for

supplementary nutrition programme (SNP) is 50:50

and for integrated child development scheme (ICDS),

it is 60:40. Padhi directed the Women and Child

Development Department to complete buildings under

construction with toilet and water facilities and make

those functional for children during the current year.

Sources said work has not started on more than 5,000

AWCs while land has not been identified for 768

centres.

Presently, 43.52 lakh beneficiaries are being supplied

supplementary nutrition food daily in 72,452 AWCs of

the State spread over 338 project areas. Of the total

beneficiaries, around 18.83 lakhs are children between

six months and three years of age, 17.33 lakhs between

three and six years, 7.36 lakhs are pregnant and

lactating women, Director, Social Welfare D Prasanth

Reddy said.

Padhi directed officials to strengthen internal

inspection and reporting mechanism and ensure that

the benefits reached to target group in time.

The primary focus of AWCs is on poor and

malnourished groups. These centres provide

supplementary nutrition to children below the age of

six and nursing and pregnant women. Besides, pre-

school education to children in the age group of three

to five years is provided at these centres.

Slow pace

Govt sets target to construct 24,481 Anganwadi

centres by 2018-19 in convergence with MGNREGS

Approval accorded for construction of 14,569 AWCs

under the convergence plan to tide over financial

constraints due to stoppage of Central assistance

While 1,121 AWC buildings were constructed under

convergence scheme in 2015-26, an additional 2,307

centres were completed in 2016-17

Work has not started on more than 5,000 AWCs while

land has not been identified for 768 centres

http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/odisha/2017/may/31/odis

ha-govt-takes-mgnregs-route-to-build-anganwadis-1611149.html


Clear MGNREGS wagearrears, Centre urged

Special Correspondent, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,

May 25, 2017 18:43 IST, Updated: May 26, 2017

08:03 IST

House resolution says Rs.683.89 crore due to State

The Assembly on Thursday demanded that the Centre

clear the Rs. 683.89-crore wage arrears due to workers

under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme in the State.

A resolution moved by Local Administration Minister

K.T. Jaleel said out of the 32.39 lakh families having

job cards, 18.34 lakh families were actively rendering

jobs envisaged under the scheme.

About 90% of the beneficiaries were women. Despite

the government taking up the issue a number of times

and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan writing to Prime

Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre has not cleared the

arrears. This is unjustified, he said.

When the schools reopen in June, the women

beneficiaries were hoping to use the wages for paying

the fee and buying study material for the students.

Now their hopes have been dashed.

Though the Centre had granted Plan assistance to

various States in April, Kerala was deprived of its due.

Many States got more than its due too, he said.

Against the Rs. 2,146.05-crore due in 2016-17, the

Centre had granted only Rs.1,386.70 crore.

Dr. Jaleel said the State government has decided to

increase the material component of the scheme to 30%

to create more durable assets and also met other norms

laid by the Union government.

The House demanded release of the arrears at the

earliest.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/clear-mgnregs-

wagearrears-centre-urged/article18577633.ece

Few takers for rural job scheme

Posted at: May 21, 2017, 1:24 AM; last updated: May

21, 2017, 1:24 AM (IST)

Only 0.6% finish 100 days under MGNREGA; low

wages to blame

Nikhila Pant Dhawan, Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 20

One of the pet projects of the then UPA government

— Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) — has been dying a slow

death as it is proving to be unsuccessful in attracting

workers.

Only 0.57 per cent households demanding employment

under the MGNREGA in the state completed 100 days

of work under this scheme in the state in 2016-17

financial year.

According to the figures, 12,47,455 households were

issued job cards in the state, out of which only


6,10,775 households demanded jobs. While 5,36,377

households were given jobs, only 3,511 households

completed the promised 100 days of work under the

scheme.

Labourers claimed that they preferred to be part of

projects in cities and towns in different private projects

because they get very less wages under the

MGNREGA.

Under the scheme, they are paid Rs 200 for a day’s

work. By working somewhere else, they easily earn a

higher amount than this. Labourers also opined that

another reason for workers not completing 100 days

was that they do not get their wages in time as

compared to jobs.

The scheme was started in 2005 with an aim to provide

employment guarantee of at least 100 days in the rural

parts of the country. Under this scheme, all persons

above the age of 18 years, who register for

employment, are given non-skilled work.

A way out

The Bathinda Zila Parishad, aiming to increase

employment of labour under MGNREGA, is planning

to be the link between the contractors and the labour

registered under the scheme. Bathinda Zila Parishad

chairman Gurpreet Singh Maluka has sent a proposal

to the Central Government to allow the ZP to charge

the farmers or contractors Rs 100 and provide them

labour. “While the contractors or farmers will get

labour for Rs 100, the MGNREGA workers will get Rs

200 under the scheme and the additional Rs 100 paid

by the contractors. This way, more labourers will be

interested in working under the MGNREGA,” he said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/few-takers-for-rural-

job-scheme/410338.html

Three years of Modi: Rural jobs rise as 8.13 bn

person-days of work created

Centre created 8.13 billion person-days of jobs in

rural sector in 3 years

Sanjeeb Mukherjee | New Delhi May 28, 2017 Last

Updated at 11:34 IST

At a time when questions are being raised on the

number of jobs created in the organised sector in the

past three years of the Narendra Modi government,

data furnished by the rural development ministry show

that around 8.13 billion person-days of work have been

created in the rural sector under its various flagship

programmes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National

Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)

during the period.

“The ministry generated 8.13 billion person-days of

work in the past three years through various flagship

schemes,” Union Rural Development Minister

Narendra Singh Tomar said, while highlighting the

achievements of his ministry in the past three years.

A person day is the amount of work done by one

person in a working day.


The maximum 6.36 billion person-days of work was

generated under MGNREGA, followed by 0.98 billion

under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana and 0.78

billion under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

(PMGSY), Tomar said.

For MGNREGA, the rural development ministry was

also planning to tweak the method of wage calculation

and could consider linking it to Consumer Price

Index–Rural to ensure a greater increase. At present,

wages are linked to CPI-Agriculture Labour (AL),

which gives higher weightage to food items.

Due to this, the annual wage hike has been marginal in

2017-18 as food prices have remained stable or flat

due to the Food Security Act. “Linking MGNREGA

wages to CPI-Rural will ensure that hikes are optimum

as it has less weight of food items in them,” a senior

official said.

Meanwhile, Tomar said Centre’s total expenditure on

rural development increased from Rs 58,630 crore in

2013-14 to Rs 95,099 crore in 2016-17, a 62 per cent

rise, as improving the quality of life of the people in

rural areas topped the Modi government’s agenda.

The Union minister added the government enhanced

the expenditure to make gram panchayats poverty free.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/three-

years-of-modi-rural-jobs-rise-as-8-13-bn-person-days-of-work-

created-117052701137_1.html

MNREGA: Priority given to water conservation

Special Correspondent, Ballari, May 31, 2017 00:00

IST, Updated: May 31, 2017 04:31 IST

(Workers removing silt from a tank in Kudligi taluk

taken up under MNREGA, in Ballari.Special

ArrangementSpecial_arrangement)

Apart from preventing migration for want of work,

priority has been accorded for water and soil

conservation by taking up suitable works under

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in 2016-17 in Ballari

district.

As many as 4,975 tanks/lakes were identified for

removing the silt in all seven taluks of the district.

Removing silt in check dams, mini-irrigation canals,

contour bunding and trenches, krishi-hondas,

construction of multi-arch check dams and mini

watershed development were also taken up under

MGNREGA during the previous year (2016-17).

K.V. Rajendra, Chief Executive Officer, told The

Hindu , that of the total 15,764 works pertaining to

water and soil conservation proposed, 7,362 had been

completed and 1,265 were under various stages of

completion.


Silt to the extent of 3.35 lakh cubic metre had been

removed enabling additional augmentation of 19.28

crore litres of water in the tanks/lakes.

A sum of Rs. 82.70 crore had been spent towards

payment of wages to created 24.77 lakh person days.

This apart, tree plantation was taken up in a big way

all over the district on road side, vacant land at schools

and anganwadis, grave yards, farmer’s land and also

on forest land for which Rs. 7.39 crore had been spent,

he said.

“To mitigate the plight of farmers, particularly the

small and marginal, following drought due to failure of

rain for the second year in succession, the State

government had announced various schemes to benefit

the individual farmers under Chief Minister’s 21-point

programme. Under this programme works such as land

development, horticulture and silk development,

‘krishi-honda’, forestry, construction of sheds,

recharging pit around borewells, playgrounds and the

like were taken up,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-

karnataka/mnrega-priority-given-to-water-

conservation/article18663753.ece


This information bulletin is a part of our initiative towards improving

water conservation through leveraging NREGA.

Supported by: Hindustan Unilever Foundation

mgnregs update - foundation for ecological...

Documents