Lok Sabha Question No. 1259 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-03
Subject: Increase in Working Days under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Thiru D M Kathir Anand

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1259 ANSWERED ON 03/12/2024

## INCREASE IN WORKING DAYS UNDER MGNREGS

## 1259. THIRU D M KATHIR ANAND:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a)   whether  the  Government  has  taken  adequate  measures  to increase the budgetary allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Swacch Bharat,  Pradhan  MantriAwasYojana-Rural  and  other  schemes to  cater  the    welfare  of  rural  people  especially  women,  if  so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  measures  taken  to  increase  the  number  of working  days  from  100  days  to  150  days  and  effect  the  six percent  increase in wages every year; and
- (c)   whether the Government has initiated any special employment guarantee  scheme  for  SC/ST/OBC  and  Minority  communities and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a):  The  Government  of  India  is  committed  to  the  welfare  and development of rural communities, including women, through sustained  efforts  and  robust  policy  implementation.  Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) in respect of schemes being implemented  by  Department  of  Rural  Development  is  given  at annexure.

Under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) which is being implemented by Department  of  Drinking  Water  &  Sanitation,  the  focus  remains  on sustaining open defecation-free (ODF) villages and promoting

awareness programs to ensure improved health outcomes, particularly for women  and  children.  Details of central share allocated under Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) is given below:

| Financial Year   |   Allocation (Rs. in Crore) |
|------------------|-----------------------------|
| 2022-23          |                        5000 |
| 2023-24          |                        7000 |
| 2024-25          |                        7192 |

With regard to welfare of women, it is stated that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005, requires that priority shall be given to women in such a  way  that  at  least  one-third  of  the  beneficiaries  shall  be  women who  have  registered  and  requested  for  work.  Further,  in  case  of individual  work,  women  headed  rural  household  is  one  of  the categories which shall be given priority.

The rate  of  participation  of  women  (percentage  of  women person-days out of total in percentage) in Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the last three financial years and current financial year 202425 (as on 29.11.2024) is given below:

| Financial Year               |   2021-22 |   2022-23 |   2023-24 |   2024-25 |
|------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Women participation rate (%) |     54.82 |     57.47 |      58.9 |     57.75 |

(As per NREGASoft)

- (b): Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) provides for at least one hundred days  of  guaranteed  wage  employment  in  every  financial  year  to every  household  whose  adult  members  volunteer  to  do  unskilled manual  work.   Further,  the  Ministry  mandates  the  provision  of  an additional 50 days of wage employment (beyond the stipulated 100 days) to every Scheduled Tribe Household in a forest area, provided that these households have no other private property except for the land  rights  provided  under  the  Forest  Rights  Act  (FRA),  2006.  In addition to this, there is a provision for providing upto an additional 50 days of wage employment in a financial year in drought/natural calamity-affected notified rural areas.

As  per  Section  3  (4)  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural Employment  Guarantee  Act,  2005,  the  State  Governments  may make provision for providing additional days of employment beyond the period guaranteed under the Act from their own funds.

With regard to increase in wage rate it is stated that Section 6 (1)  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005, provides that the Central Government may by notification specify the wage rate for unskilled work for its beneficiaries. Accordingly, the Ministry of Rural Development notifies Mahatma Gandhi NREGA wage rate for every financial year for States/UTs. To compensate the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers against inflation, the Ministry of Rural Development revises  the  wage  rate  every  financial  year  based  on  change  in Consumer Price Index for Agricultural Labour (CPI-AL).

The overall  %  increase  in  wage  rate  for  FY  2024-25  from  FY 2023-24 is about 7 %.

(c):     In so far as Ministry of Rural Development is concerned it is implementing  the  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS)  which  is  a  demand driven wage employment Scheme which stipulates for providing at least  one  hundred  days  of  guaranteed  wage  employment  in  every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do  unskilled manual  work.   The  details  of the  percentage  of beneficiaries from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities  provided  employment  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS during the last three financial years and current financial Year 202425 (as on 29.11.2024) is given below:

| Financial year           | %age of Persondays generated   | %age of Persondays generated   |
|--------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
|                          | SCs                            | STs                            |
| 2021-22                  | 19.17%                         | 18.33%                         |
| 2022-23                  | 19.55%                         | 18.02%                         |
| 2023-24                  | 19.18%                         | 17.62%                         |
| 2024-25 (as on 29.11.24) | 19.08%                         | 17.81%                         |

(as per NREGSASoft)

*****

Annexure Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (a)  of  LokSabhaunstarred

question no. 1259 dated 03.12.2024.

<!-- image -->

| Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   | Scheme-wise Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates for financial year 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-2025(B.E) (Rs. in crore)   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| SI. No                                                                                                                     | Name of                                                                                                                    | Annual Plan 2022-23                                                                                                        | Annual Plan 2022-23                                                                                                        | Annual Plan 2023-24                                                                                                        | Annual Plan 2023-24                                                                                                        | Annual Plan 2024-25                                                                                                        |
| .                                                                                                                          | the Scheme                                                                                                                 | B.E.                                                                                                                       | R.E.                                                                                                                       | B.E.                                                                                                                       | R.E.                                                                                                                       | B.E,                                                                                                                       |
| 1                                                                                                                          | 2                                                                                                                          | 3                                                                                                                          | 4                                                                                                                          | 6                                                                                                                          | 7                                                                                                                          | 9                                                                                                                          |
| 1                                                                                                                          | Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employmen t Guarantee                                                                        | 73000                                                                                                                      | 90955.77                                                                                                                   | 60000                                                                                                                      | 86000                                                                                                                      | 86000                                                                                                                      |
| 2                                                                                                                          | Scheme National Rural Livelihood Mission- Aajeevika                                                                        | 13336.42                                                                                                                   | 11776.01                                                                                                                   | 14129.17                                                                                                                   | 14129.17                                                                                                                   | 15047                                                                                                                      |
| 3                                                                                                                          | Pradhan MantriAwaa sYojana                                                                                                 | 20000                                                                                                                      | 48422                                                                                                                      | 54487                                                                                                                      | 32000.01                                                                                                                   | 54500.14                                                                                                                   |
| 4                                                                                                                          | Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojan a                                                                                           | 19000                                                                                                                      | 19000                                                                                                                      | 19000                                                                                                                      | 17000                                                                                                                      | 19000                                                                                                                      |
| 5                                                                                                                          | National Social Assistance Programme                                                                                       | 9652.31                                                                                                                    | 9652                                                                                                                       | 9636.32                                                                                                                    | 9652                                                                                                                       | 9652                                                                                                                       |
| 6                                                                                                                          | Shyama Prasad Mukherjee RURBAN Mission*                                                                                    | 550                                                                                                                        | 988.91                                                                                                                     | 0                                                                                                                          | 0                                                                                                                          | 0                                                                                                                          |

15047

19000

9652

0

*No allocation is being made for this scheme since FY 2023-24.

*****