Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) workers are still waiting for almost ₹3,360 crore in pending wage payments, with the largest pending payments in West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, according to the government’s reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
This comes as the Centre reduced its budget allocation for the rural jobs scheme by 25% in comparison to revised estimates for the current year. If these pending wage and material payment liabilities are carried forward into the next financial year, it will further reduce the amount of money available to pay workers next year.
