NREGA: Each household got only 39 job days last year

It was the NDA government which implemented MGNREGA unlike in the previous years when it was monitored by Congress-led governments.

The gaps in the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) continue to widen despite the scheme being in its tenth year. The last year (2014-15) has turned out to be worst year of the scheme since its inception in terms of the average number of days of employment provided to each household.

The MGNREGA, introduced in February 2006 by the UPA government, promises 100 days of employment every year to each rural household. However, last year, it was the NDA government which implemented the scheme unlike in the previous years when it was monitored by Congress-led governments.

As per the data available with the Ministry of Rural Development, which implements the scheme, the average days of employment provided per household in 2014-15 were only 39.2, significantly lower than in 2013-14 when the figure was 46. Last year was the scheme’s worst performance on this count in the past nine years since it was introduced. The average days of employment provided per household has, although always low, remained above the 40-mark. The figure was 43, 42, 48, 54, 47, 43, 46 in 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectively.

While ministry officials claim that the data usually come in with a lag and the figure for last year could subsequently improve, they also say the scheme’s poor performance in 2014-15 was largely a supply side problem. Fund constraints and delayed release of funds to states meant no proper planning could be done at the local level, leading to a paucity of work.

Source:: Indian Express