Lok Sabha Question No. 2480 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-06
Subject: Unemployment Allowance under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri Sukhdeo Bhagat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2480 ANSWERED ON 06/08/2024

## UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE UNDER MGNREGS

## 2480 SHRI SUKHDEO BHAGAT:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENTbe pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that only three percent of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural EmploymentGuarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) job seekers received unemployment allowance during the lastfive years and if so, the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether  the  Government  is  planning  to  place  any  monitoring mechanisms  to  ensure  thateligible  job  seekers  receive  their unemployment allowance promptly;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  there  is  any  grievance  redressal  mechanism  for  job seekers  regardingunemployment  allowance  under  MGNREGS; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  of  complaints received and the action taken by the Government in thisregard during the last two years in Jharkhand, district-wise?

## ANSWER

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

(a)to(d): Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS)  is  a  demand-driven wage employment Scheme. It provides livelihood security  i.e.,  fall back option for livelihood for the rural households when no better employment opportunity is available.

The details of households who demanded employment, households offered  employment and  the percentage  of  households who were offered employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in the last five financial years from 2019-20 to 2023-24 are given below:

(Figure in crore)

| Financial Year   |   Households who demanded employment |   Households offered employment |   Percentage of households offered employment (%) |
|------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
| 2019-20          |                                 6.16 |                            6.15 |                                             99.79 |
| 2020-21          |                                 8.54 |                            8.53 |                                             99.89 |
| 2021-22          |                                 8.05 |                            8.02 |                                             99.55 |
| 2022-23          |                                 6.9  |                            6.89 |                                             99.04 |
| 2023-24          |                                 6.52 |                            6.51 |                                             99.85 |

(As per NREGASoft)

While  the  work  demanded  closely  matches  the  work  offered,  the difference in work availed with the former is on account of the lack of utilisation of such offering by workers. This could be on account of better employment opportunities elsewhere, illness or any other relevant factor.

As per Section 7(1) of Mahatma  Gandhi  National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 'If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application,  whichever  is  later,  he  shall  be  entitled  to  a  daily unemployment allowance in accordance with this section.'

Unemployment allowance is the liability of the State Government and States have to pay unemployment allowances as per the provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. This Ministry is monitoring the progress through Labour Budget meetings, Mid-term review meetings and other interaction with the States/UTs.

States/UTs-wise  details  of  Unemployment  Allowance  paid  to beneficiaries of Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  during  the  last  five financial years 2019-20 to the current financial year 2024-25 (as on 30.07.2024) are at Annexure.

As  per  Section-19  of  the  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREG  Act,  "The State Government shall, by rules, determine appropriate grievance redressal  mechanisms at the Block level and the district level for dealing with any complaint by any person in respect of implementation  of  the  Scheme  and  lay  down  the  procedure  for disposal of such complaints."

The Ministry receives complaints under the Mahatma Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi NREGS)  through  the  Centralized  Public  Grievance  Redress  and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS). Since the responsibility of implementation  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGA  is  vested  with  the State/UT  Governments,  all  complaints  received  in  the  Ministry through CPGRAMS  are forwarded to the concerned State/UT Governments for taking  appropriate  action  including  investigation, as per law.

(e):  No  specific  complaint  regarding  unemployment  allowance  has been  received  on  the  Centralised  Public  Grievance  Redress  and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal in the last two years for the State of Jharkhand.

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Annexure Annexure  referred  in  reply  to  parts  (a)to(d)  of  LokSabhaUnstarred Question No. 2480 dated 06.08.2024

States/UTs-wise details of Unemployment Allowance paid to beneficiaries of Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  during  the  last  five financial years 2019-20 to the current financial year 2024-25 (as on 30.07.2024)

|                      |                      | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   | Unemployment Allowance paid (in Rs.)   |
|----------------------|----------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Sl N o               | State/UTs            | 2019 -20                               | 2020- 21                               | 2021- 22                               | 2022- 23                               | 2023- 24                               | 2024-25 (as on 30.07.202 4)            | Total (2019- 20 to 2024-25 as on date) |
| 1 Andhra Pradesh     | 1 Andhra Pradesh     | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 2 Arunachal Pradesh  | 2 Arunachal Pradesh  | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 3Assam               | 3Assam               | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 4Bihar               | 4Bihar               | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 5Chhattisgarh        | 5Chhattisgarh        | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 6Goa                 | 6Goa                 | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 7Gujarat             | 7Gujarat             | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 8Haryana             | 8Haryana             | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 9 Himachal Pradesh   | 9 Himachal Pradesh   | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 10 Jammu And Kashmir | 10 Jammu And Kashmir | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 11Jharkhand          | 11Jharkhand          | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 12Karnataka          | 12Karnataka          | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 13Kerala             | 13Kerala             | 0                                      | 800                                    | 99706                                  | 4199                                   | 0                                      | 0                                      | 104705                                 |
| 14Ladakh             | 14Ladakh             | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 15 Madhya Pradesh    | 15 Madhya Pradesh    | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 16Maharashtra        | 16Maharashtra        | 0                                      | 0                                      | 1116                                   | 1152                                   | 0                                      | 0                                      | 2268                                   |
| 17Manipur            | 17Manipur            | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |
| 18Meghalaya          | 18Meghalaya          | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      | 0                                      |

As per NREGASoft

<!-- image -->

| 19Mizoram                                   |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
|---------------------------------------------|-----|---------|---------|---------|---------|------|----------|
| 20Nagaland                                  |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 21Odisha                                    |   0 | 39392   | 0       | 92393   | 28618   | 2667 | 163070   |
| 22Punjab                                    |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 23Rajasthan                                 |   0 | 11610 5 | 0       | 0       | 2104    |    0 | 118209   |
| 24Sikkim                                    |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 25Tamil Nadu                                |   0 | 0       | 0       | 32468 3 | 5950    |    0 | 330633   |
| 26Telangana                                 |   0 | 0       | 0       | 91157   | 9792    |    0 | 100949   |
| 27Tripura                                   |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 28 Uttar Pradesh                            |   0 | 80799   | 15585 6 | 27112 9 | 71703   | 3674 | 583161   |
| 29Uttarakhand                               |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 30West Bengal                               |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 31 Andaman and Nicobar                      |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 32 Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 33 Lakshadwee p                             |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| 34Puducherry                                |   0 | 0       | 0       | 0       | 0       |    0 | 0        |
| Total                                       |   0 | 23709 6 | 25667 8 | 78471 3 | 11816 7 | 6341 | 140299 5 |

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