Lok Sabha Question No. 4940 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-01
Subject: Beneficiaries Identification under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Adv. Chandra Shekhar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4940 ANSWERED ON 01/04/2025

## BENEFICIARIES IDENTIFICATION UNDER MGNREGS

## 4940. ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of mechanisms are in place to prevent bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, and misallocation of funds in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS); and
- (b) the manner in which the Government ensures accurate beneficiary identification and timely delivery of benefits?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a)& (b): Mahatma Gandhi National Rural  Employment  Guarantee Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS)  is  a  demand  driven  wage employment Scheme. The Scheme is implemented on an end-to-end integrated transaction-based Management Information System (MIS) platform  called  NREGASoft.  Through  this,  all  aspects  relating  to planning,  administrative  and  technical  approval  of  the  scheme, issue  of  job  cards,  acceptance  of  demand,  issue  of  muster  roll, measurement of work, approval of payment and finally payment to the beneficiary through  a  Direct Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)-Public Financial Management System (PFMS) platform are monitored.

Transparency  and  accountability  are  the  prime  focus  of  the scheme. Ministry of Rural Development has adopted robust process for ensuring transparency and accountability in the implementation of  the  scheme  across  the  States/UTs.  A  brief  note  of  the  various monitoring  and  evaluation  arrangements  made  for  ensuring  the proper utilization of the funds released under the scheme is given at

Annexure.

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a)&(b) of LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 4940 dated 01.04.2025.

- i. Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT):  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT) system  in  wage  payment  has  been  adopted  under  Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS).  The  payment  of  wages  to  the  bank/  post  office accounts  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  workers  is  through National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS)/Electronic Fund Management System (eFMS).
- ii. National Mobile Monitoring Service (NMMS): It enables capturing of attendance of workers  at  Mahatma  Gandhi NREGA  worksites  (except  for  individual  beneficiary  works) along  with  geo-tagged  photograph  twice  in  a  day.  This  app aids in increasing citizen oversight of the programme. This is one more step towards transparency and accountability.
- iii. Area Officer Monitoring Visit Application:  This App facilitates the officials of the State/UT to record their field visit findings online.  The  App  also  allows  the  officials  to  record  time stamped  and  geotagged  photograph  for  all  the  schemes launched by Department of Rural Development. Also, this App helps  in  developing  hassle-free  reporting  of  the  field  visits. This  app  records  the  field  visit  findings  and  views  the  field visit outcome report by the senior officials.
- iv. GIS based plan- Use of Space Technology: GIS based GP level plan  (ridge  to  valley  approach)  preparation  using  Remote Sensing technology in a saturation mode for all the GPs of the country.
- v. Yuktdhara  :   GIS  based  planning  tool  -  To  simplify  the  GIS based  planning  at  GP  level  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGA  ' Yuktdhara'  a Geospatial planning portal is developed  in
6. collaboration with ISRO-NRSC.
- vi. SECURE  -  Software  for  Estimate  Calculation  for  using  Rural Rates for Employment :-Application is being used to  estimate the  cost of works to be undertaken under the scheme.
- vii. GeoNREGA:  the  app  has  been  developed  by  using  Space Technology to track the creation of assets by geotagging it, at 'Before', 'During' and 'After' stages of the asset creation.
- viii. JALDOOT  App:  JALDOOT  app  has  been  developed  to  enable monitoring  of  ground  water  tables  across  the  country.  The Jaldoot  app  enables  Gram  RojgarSahayak  (GRS)  to  measure the water level of selected wells twice a year (premonsoonand post-monsoon).

- ix. JANMANREGA app: this app  helps  in  proactive  disclosure  of information to its citizens in reference to the implementation of  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS.  Citizen  awareness  is  a  key  to efficient, effective, and transparent execution of the scheme.
- x. Ombudsperson App-An Ombudsperson App has been developed for smooth reporting and categorization of grievances received from  various  sources  viz.  physical,  digital  and  mass  media related to the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS, easy tracking and timely passing of awards on each case as per the guidelines and easy uploading of quarterly and annual report on the website.
- xi. Social Audit: As per the mandate of the Act, the Ministry has laid emphasis on the setting up of an institutional structure at the  States/UTs  level  for  facilitating  social  audits  of  all  the Gram  Panchayats  at  least  twice  a  year.  With  the  consistent efforts  by  Ministry,  a  total  of  27  States  and  1  UT  have established Independent Social Audit Units.

Further,  monitoring  by  National  level  monitors  regular  and  special monitoring, monitoring by team of central level officers, monitoring visits by Common review Mission teams, monitoring through use of Area Officers app is being conducted for better implementation of the programme. Also, State/UT specific reviews are also undertaken from time to time.

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