Resources misallocated under rural employment scheme: Survey

Evaluating the effectiveness of MGNREGS, the Economic Survey today said there is misallocation of resources under the rural employment scheme as only one-third of funds are spent on states which account more than 50 per cent of poor in the country.
Stating that redistribution by the government is far from efficient in targeting the poor, the survey said the poorest areas of the country often obtain a lower share of government resources when compared to their richer counterparts.
"For instance, consider the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh: despite accounting for over half the poor in the country, these states access only a third of the resources spent on the MGNREGS in 2015-16," the survey said.

However, the survey also mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) has changed considerably in last two years.
It further said there has been improvement in monitoring technology, asset creation and job provision that has occurred in the scheme over the past two years.
The program has evolved over the last two years and there is a greater thrust on natural resource management and agriculture and allied activities.
"This is expected to improve farmers' income and enlarge their wage opportunities," it added.
The program also provides a higher number of days of employment (150 days instead of 100 days) in drought affected areas.