MGNREGA needs at least ₹2.72 lakh crore for providing 100 days of work, say activists
The HinduThe minimum budget for it in the upcoming financial year 2023-24 should be at least ₹2.72 lakh crore if the government intends to provide legally guaranteed 100 days of work per household for at least those that worked in the current financial year, Peoples’ Action for Employment Guarantee and the NREGA Sangarsh Morcha said in a joint statement on Tuesday, a day before the Union Budget is tabled. In the last Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme saw a 25% cut, and was granted only ₹73,000 crore. “In the last financial year, the government only gave ₹73,000 crore, which is one third of the total required budget. In the ongoing financial year, as The Hindu had reported on January 21, the average number of days of employment is at a five-year low with just 42 days of work per household.