A week after the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme received a Budget allocation 25% lower than the previous year’s revised estimates, a Parliamentary panel has pulled up the government, noting that Budget estimates for the Centre’s flagship rural jobs scheme have failed to keep up with proven demand for the last four to five years.
“Budgetary Allocation of a scheme of such enormous magnitude should be done in a more pragmatic manner so that there is no dearth of funds in mid-year, and flow of funds for payment of wages, material share, etc. is maintained seamlessly,” said a critical evaluation of the scheme presented to the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.
