Lok Sabha Question No. 252 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-02
Subject: Budget Allocation under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shri K C Venugopal

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 252 ANSWERED ON 02/12/2025

## BUDGET ALLOCATION UNDER MGNREGS

## 252. Shri K C Venugopal:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the total budget allocated for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS)  in  the  financial years 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 along with the reasons for maintaining it stagnant since 2023-24 despite rising inflation, increased rural demand, and pending liabilities of  wage payment, State-wise;
- (b) the measures taken in response to the Parliamentary Standing Committee's report, highlighting the delays in wage payments and the insufficiency of 100 guaranteed work days in discouraging participation and fueling rural migration, particularly  in  states  like  Kerala  where  the  scheme  supports over twenty lakh households annually, State-wise; and
- (c) whether the Government proposes to implement a raise in the minimum  guaranteed  work  days  to  150  and  revise  wages  as per  the  inflation,  if  so,  the  timeline  and  funding  implications thereof?

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

## (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a):   The  details  of  funds  allocation  at  Budget  Estimate  stage, Revised  Estimate  stage  and  fund  released  under  Mahatma  Gandhi National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (Mahatma  Gandhi NREGS) in the last five years are given below:

(Rs. in crore)

|   SI. No. | Financial Year   | Budget Estimate   | Revised Estimate   | Fund released   |
|-----------|------------------|-------------------|--------------------|-----------------|
|         1 | 2023-24          | 60,000.00         | 86,000.00          | 89,268.30       |
|         2 | 2024-25          | 86,000.00         | 86,000.00          | 85,838.76       |
|         3 | 2025-26          | 86,000.00         | -                  | 68,503.77*      |

Since  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  is  a  demand  driven  wage employment Scheme, budgetary outlay is determined based on the anticipated demand for employment in a particular financial year. The Ministry undertakes regular assessments of fund requirements based on demand and seeks additional funds from the Ministry of Finance as and when required for meeting the demand for  work  on  the  ground.  In  the  FY  2025-26  (as  on  27.11.2025), 99.81% of the eligible rural households have been offered employment against their demand.

Here, it is also to be noted that for the financial year 2024-25, budget  allocation  of  ₹86,000  crore  was  made,  which  was  the highest  ever  allocation  for  scheme  at  the  Budget  Estimate  (BE) stage since inception. In the financial year 2025-26, the Government has  retained  this  allocation  at  ₹86,000  crore,  ensuring  continued support for the scheme.

State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS  as on 26.11.2025

are given at Annexure.

(b) & (c):    With regard to the Committee's observations on delays in wage payments, it  is  submitted  that,  as  per  the  provisions  of  the Act, beneficiaries are entitled to receive wage payments within 15 days  of  work  completion.  In  order  to  ensure  timely  payment,  the Government of India has issued a comprehensive Standard Operating  Procedure  (SOP)  to  all  States/UTs,  which  defines  fixed timelines for each stage of the wage payment process-from muster roll uploading to FTO  approval. The Ministry along with the States/UTs  has  been  making  concerted  efforts  for  improving  the timely payment of wages. States/UTs have been advised to generate pay orders in time.

The Ministry has taken various steps to ensure timely payment of  wages  to  workers  under  (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS).  These include:

-  Improvement of National Electronic Fund Management System (Ne-FMS)

-  Intensive  consultation  with  State  Governments  and  other stakeholders for ensuring timely payment of wages, verification of pending and delay compensation claims etc.
-  Formulation of Standard Operating Procedure for monitoring of timely payment and payment of delay compensation.
- Reviewing the status of timely payment and payment of delay compensation with the States/ UTs during periodic meetings, Performance  Review  Committee  meetings,  Mid-term  Reviews
-  etc.

Further,  continued  efforts  have  been  undertaken  by  the  Ministry through  various  technological  interventions  for  ensuring  timely payments of wages. Some of the key interventions include:

-  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT):  Wages  are  transferred  directly from the central account to workers' bank accounts, minimizing the role of intermediaries and reducing fund misappropriation. This has proven to be effective in enhancing transparency  and  preventing  leakages.  Almost  100%  of  the funds  are  managed  electronically  with  the  wage  payment made entirely through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) protocol.
-  Aadhaar Payment Bridge System (APBS): APBS conversion is a major reform process where benefits are credited directly into the  bank  accounts  based  on  the  Aadhaar  of  the  workers, preferably  through  Aadhaar  Payment  Bridge  System,  cutting several  layers  in  the  delivery  process.  APBS  helps  in  better targeting, increasing the efficiency of the system and reducing the delays in payments, ensuring greater inclusion by curbing leakages thereby promoting greater accountability and transparency.
-  National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS): Real-time attendance  capture  through  geo-tagged  photographs  at  the worksite ensures accurate and timely recording of attendance, which helps in  timely payment of wages.

During the current financial year 2025-26 (as on 27.11.2025), 99.83% of Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) have been generated within 15 days of muster roll closure in Kerala under the Mahatma Gandhi

NREGS.

During the current financial year 2025-26 (as on 27.11.2025), 98% of Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs) have been generated within 15

days of muster roll closure under the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in all States/UTs.

Regarding  the Committee's observations on the insufficiency of  100  guaranteed  work  days  under  the  scheme  and  proposal  to increase guaranteed number of days of employment from 100 days to 150 days  it is stated  that  the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mahatma Gandhi NREGA), 2005, is an Act  to  provide  for  the  enhancement  of  livelihood  security  of  the households in rural areas of the country by 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,  as  a  fall  back  option  when  no  better employment opportunities are available.

The  Ministry  mandates  the  provision  of  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 up to additional 50 days  of  wage  employment  in  a  financial  year  in  drought/natural calamity  affected  notified  rural  areas.  Recently  Ministry  allowed additional  50  days  of   guaranteed  employment  in  the  State  of Himachal  Pradesh,  Punjab  and  UT  of  Jammu  &  Kashmir  owing  to natural calamities faced by these States/UTs.

Further  as  per  Section  3  (4)  of  the  Act,  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 revisions of wages, it is stated that as per Section 6 (1)  of  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Act (Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGA),  2005,  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 year based on change in Consumer Price Index for  Agricultural  Labour(CPI-AL).  The  wage  rate  is  made  applicable from 1st April of each financial year.

Using the present methodology of wage rate calculation, the Central Government  has  notified  the  wage  rate  and  it  has  increased  by around 5% (average) over the last year and around 29% (average) in the  previous  5  years.  However,  State  Governments  can  provide wages  over  and  above  the  wage  rate  notified  by  the  Central Government, from its own sources.

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Annexure

Annexure  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (a)  of  LokSabhaUnstarred  Question  No. 252 dated 02.12.2025.

| State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on 26.11.2025 (Rs. in crores)   | State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on 26.11.2025 (Rs. in crores)   | State/Union Territory (UT)-wise details of pending liabilities for wage component under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS as on 26.11.2025 (Rs. in crores)   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Sl. No.                                                                                                                                         | States/UTs                                                                                                                                      | Pending liabilities for wage component                                                                                                          |
| 1                                                                                                                                               | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                                  | 381.02                                                                                                                                          |
| 2                                                                                                                                               | Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                                               | 4.70                                                                                                                                            |
| 3                                                                                                                                               | Assam                                                                                                                                           | 0.23                                                                                                                                            |
| 4                                                                                                                                               | Bihar                                                                                                                                           | 7.04                                                                                                                                            |
| 5                                                                                                                                               | Chhattisgarh                                                                                                                                    | 3.78                                                                                                                                            |
| 6                                                                                                                                               | Goa                                                                                                                                             | 0.00                                                                                                                                            |
| 7                                                                                                                                               | Gujarat                                                                                                                                         | 46.98                                                                                                                                           |
| 8                                                                                                                                               | Haryana                                                                                                                                         | 0.38                                                                                                                                            |
| 9                                                                                                                                               | Himachal Pradesh                                                                                                                                | 15.18                                                                                                                                           |
| 10                                                                                                                                              | Jammu & Kashmir                                                                                                                                 | 5.48                                                                                                                                            |
| 11                                                                                                                                              | Jharkhand                                                                                                                                       | 5.83                                                                                                                                            |
| 12                                                                                                                                              | Karnataka                                                                                                                                       | 8.94                                                                                                                                            |
| 13                                                                                                                                              | Kerala                                                                                                                                          | 248.42                                                                                                                                          |
| 14                                                                                                                                              | Madhya Pradesh                                                                                                                                  | 64.14                                                                                                                                           |
| 15                                                                                                                                              | Maharashtra                                                                                                                                     | 14.32                                                                                                                                           |
| 16                                                                                                                                              | Manipur                                                                                                                                         | 4.59                                                                                                                                            |
| 17                                                                                                                                              | Meghalaya                                                                                                                                       | 4.13                                                                                                                                            |
| 18                                                                                                                                              | Mizoram                                                                                                                                         | 91.43                                                                                                                                           |
| 19                                                                                                                                              | Nagaland                                                                                                                                        | 0.79                                                                                                                                            |
| 20                                                                                                                                              | Odisha                                                                                                                                          | 11.76                                                                                                                                           |
| 21                                                                                                                                              | Punjab                                                                                                                                          | 0.12                                                                                                                                            |
| 22                                                                                                                                              | Rajasthan                                                                                                                                       | 627.33                                                                                                                                          |
| 23                                                                                                                                              | Sikkim                                                                                                                                          | 0.10                                                                                                                                            |
| 24                                                                                                                                              | Tamil Nadu                                                                                                                                      | 111.54                                                                                                                                          |
| 25                                                                                                                                              | Telangana                                                                                                                                       | 0.98                                                                                                                                            |
| 26                                                                                                                                              | Tripura                                                                                                                                         | 2.93                                                                                                                                            |
| 27                                                                                                                                              | Uttar Pradesh                                                                                                                                   | 5.98                                                                                                                                            |
| 28                                                                                                                                              | Uttarakhand                                                                                                                                     | 0.41                                                                                                                                            |
| 29                                                                                                                                              | West Bengal*                                                                                                                                    | 1457.22                                                                                                                                         |
| 30                                                                                                                                              | Andaman & Nicobar                                                                                                                               | 0.00                                                                                                                                            |
| 31                                                                                                                                              | Lakshadweep                                                                                                                                     | 0.00                                                                                                                                            |
| 32                                                                                                                                              | Puducherry                                                                                                                                      | 16.99                                                                                                                                           |
| 33                                                                                                                                              | Ladakh                                                                                                                                          | 0.46                                                                                                                                            |
| 34                                                                                                                                              | Dadra & Nagar Haveli & Daman & Diu                                                                                                              | 1.29                                                                                                                                            |
| Total                                                                                                                                           | Total                                                                                                                                           | 1687.27                                                                                                                                         |

Subsequently, the release of funds to the State of West Bengal under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) was also stopped with effect from 09.03.2022 by invoking the provisions of Section 27 of the  Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Act,  2005,  owing  to continued non-compliance with the directives of the Central Government by the State. Therefore, as per NREGASoft, the pending liability for wage component pertaining to the State of  West  Bengal  (as  on 08.03.2022)  stands at ₹1457.22  crore.  The admissibility of this liability is subject to verification by the Central Government.

*****