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Over 11.3 mn MGNREGA workers' bank accounts yet to be seeded with Aadhaar

Bank accounts of around 1.13 crore workers under the rural job scheme MGNREGA are yet to be seeded with their Aadhaar numbers, Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh informed Lok Sabha on Tuesday. In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the minister said wage payment to beneficiaries under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) may be made either using Aadhaar-based payment bridge systems or national automated clearing house depending upon the status of a beneficiary in the Aadhaar-based systems. He said that bank accounts of 1,13,86,599 workers, or 8.93 per cent of the total active workers, are yet to be seeded with their Aadhaar numbers. The minister said northeastern states are lagging behind in the process, with accounts of more than 42 per cent workers in Assam, around 23 per cent in Arunachal Pradesh, over 70 per cent in Meghalaya, and 37 per cent in Nagaland not being seeded with Aadhaar numbers. To a question on "whether it is also a f

MGNREGS & PMJDY: States show positive correlation for women beneficiaries

Share of women in total bank deposits rises to over 20% in FY23

Over 50 mn MGNREGA job cards deleted in 2022-23: Govt tells Lok Sabha

More than five crore job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) were cancelled in 2022-23, 247 per cent more than the number of deletions in 2021-22, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply, Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh said in 2021-22, 1,49,51,247 MGNREGA job cards were deleted, while in 2022-23, 5,18,91,168 job cards were cancelled. West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana were among the states which saw the highest number of deletions. In 2021-22, 1,57,309 job cards were deleted in West Bengal, while in the following year (2022-23), the number shot up by over 5,000 per cent as 83,36,115 job cards were deleted. In Andhra Pradesh, 6,25,514 job cards were deleted in 2021-22, which increased by 1,147 per cent in 2022-23, when 78,05,569 cards were cancelled. Similarly, in Telangana, 61,278 job cards were deleted in 2021-22, while 17,32,936 cards were deleted in 2022-23, an increase of 2,727 per cent. Gujarat ...

Asha workers, DBT beneficiaries in focus as govt preps for elections

For a government opposed to freebies, ensuring that benefits of its schemes come early will be politically crucial

K T Rama Rao demands MGNREGA-like job guarantee scheme for urban poor

Telangana minister and BRS working president K T Rama Rao demanded an MGNREGA-like job guarantee scheme for the urban poor in his meeting with Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri here on Saturday. Rao said the central government should announce such a scheme in the next budget to safeguard the interests of the urban poor, especially to protect their livelihoods and raise income. "I am of the firm view that meeting the needs of India's rising urban population is and will continue to be a critical strategic policy matter for all the national, states and city governments...," he said in a representation to the central government. "I would like to request the minister to consider introducing a National Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme (NUEGS) on the lines of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to help the urban poor in the country," he added. With the support of such an employment guarantee scheme, the state government can provi

CM Mann bats for optimum utilisation of MGNREGA, boost to rural development

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday batted for optimum utilisation of the MGNREGA scheme to give a boost to development in rural areas and provide livelihood opportunities. He was chairing a meeting here to review the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme. The chief minister called the scheme important as it provides enhancement of livelihood security, giving at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household, whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. He said the scheme has been implemented in all districts across the state since April 2008, adding that the state government will enhance the budget of this ambitious scheme up to Rs 2,000 crore. It is heartening to learn that 11.53 lakh active job cards are there in the state, said an official release quoting Mann. He bemoaned that the wage rate notified under the scheme for the state is Rs 303 less in comparison to the neighbouring

MNREGA scam: SC defers bail plea hearing of suspended IAS officer's husband

The Supreme Court on Friday deferred to June 23 the hearing of the anticipatory bail plea of Abhishek Jha, the husband of suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal, in a money laundering case related to the alleged MNREGA scam in the state. Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, is the main accused in the alleged scam involving embezzlement of public funds of Rs 18.07 crore when she was the deputy commissioner of Khunti district. A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah, which refused to grant any interim protection to Jha, said the allegations against him serious and it would be appropriate if he surrenders and seeks regular bail. The counsel appearing for Jha said he is a businessman and is seeking anticipatory bail as his daughter is suffering from serious ailments. This court, the lawyer said, has twice granted interim bail to his wife for taking care of their daughter. "All this you should have thought before indulging in these activities. We are

Calcutta HC seeks report from govt over non-release of MGNREGA funds to WB

HC sought report from Central govt over non-release of funds allotted to the West Bengal government under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

MGNREGA work demand highest for May, barring pandemic year, shows data

In April 2023, around 24.06 million households had sought work under the scheme

Over 12.3 mn inactive' job cards under MGNREGS cancelled in Bihar: Minister

The Bihar government has cancelled more than 1.2 crore inactive job cards under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme in the last one year, a minister said on Monday. The government has also provided 23.07 lakh fresh job cards to labourers in various districts of the state during the period, state Rural Development Minister Shrawan Kumar said. During a drive by the Bihar Rural Development Department (till April 30), a total of 1,23,13,927 job cards, out of 3,85,69,626, were found inactive for the last several years. In some cases, job cards were found fake or were not linked with provided Aadhaar numbers, or beneficiaries had died. We have cancelled all such cards after proper physical verification. Besides, cards of labourers who had earlier obtained MGNREGS jobs and migrated from the state have also been found inactive for the last several years, Kumar told PTI. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (MGNREGA) is aimed at enhancing

Modi govt killing off MGNREGA by cutting budgets, delaying payments: Cong

The Congress on Wednesday attacked the Centre over its implementation of the UPA-launched MGNREGA, alleging that the Modi government is "killing off" the scheme by cutting budgets and delaying payments, making it very difficult for rural workers to benefit from it. Chairman All-India Unorganized Workers and Employees Congress Udit Raj said the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, (MGNREGA) was enacted by the Congress-led UPA government to ensure at least 100 days' employment to rural workers. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "never liked this scheme" and "vilified it on the floor of the Parliament". "The Modi government was forced to rely on this great welfare scheme during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 and 2022. Had MGNREGA not existed, imagine the plight of rural unorganised workers during Covid," Raj said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters here. "PM Modi never admitted his mistake, and is now killing off the scheme by .

TMC delegation holds talks with officials over MGNREGA fund dues

A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs Wednesday held talks with Rural Development Ministry officials after being unable to meet Union Minister Giriraj Singh and raise the issue of pending MGNREGA funds for workers in West Bengal. The delegation, led by Lok Sabha MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, included Lower House member and TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Mohua Moitra and Dola Sen among others. "We will not let 17 lakh families of Bengal be deprived by the BJP. We will continue to raise our voices until MGNREGS funds are released. Without an assurance, we will not leave. We're not here for tea and snacks," Banerjee told reporters. Banerjee said that party leaders had spoken to the minister and were asked to meet him on Wednesday. "I was told that he went to Parliament today. We came here once it was adjourned. We will wait for 10-12 days and if they do not release the funds we will take to the streets," Banerjee said, adding that neither the minister nor the junior ...

Number of person days generated under MGNREGA drops in Jan-Feb period

The number of person days generated under MGNREGA in January and February this year following the implementation of an app-based attendance system has gone down compared to previous years, data compiled by a civil society group has showed. As groups of MGNREGA workers continue to protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi against the new attendance and payment systems for over a month, data compiled by NREGA Sangharsh Morcha, which has been at the helm of the protest, showed 34.59 crore person days were generated in January and February this year. This was significantly lower than January and February 2022, when 53.07 crore person days of work were generated. In 2021, 56.94 crore person days of work were generated in the same period. In 2020, it was 47.75 crore person days in the two months, while in 2019, 47.86 crore person days were generated in January and February. The data has been calculated using the MIS Report. MGNREGA workers protesting the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS)

Construction workers: Rs 38,000 crore cess funds for welfare unused

Nearly Rs 40,000 crore lying unutilised with Construction workers welfare boards across the country

MGNREGA workers' protest enters day 40, opposition MPs extend support

As MGNREGA workers continued to protest for the 40th day against the new app-based attendance mechanism, DMK MP Kanimozhi and RJD MP Manoj Jha extended their support to the protesters and demanded the new systems be rolled back. Kanimozhi, who chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, said she will invite MGNREGA workers before the committee. Jha, meanwhile, accused the government of not listening to the workers, and stressed on taking the protest to the streets. He said his question in Rajya Sabha on Aadhaar-based payment to MGNREGA workers was not answered properly by the government. "What can I say about this session... You all are watching what is happening to Parliament, or what has happened in Parliament. We should use past tense, there used to be a Parliament. When we go to the new building perhaps it would be even more difficult," Jha said. "The only option available to us... they are afraid of the force on the street, not the for

Centre notifies revised MGNREGA FY24 wage rates; highest for Haryana

The Centre has notified a hike in wage rates under the rural job guarantee programme for the 2023-24 financial year with Haryana having the highest daily wage at Rs 357 per day and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh the lowest at Rs 221. The Union Ministry of Rural Development issued a notification on the change in wage rates under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on March 24. The notification was issued under Section 6 (1) of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005, that says the Centre may, by notification, specify the wage rate for its beneficiaries. The wage hikes, which range from Rs 7 to Rs 26, will come into effect from April 1. Compared to last year's rates, Rajasthan registered the highest percentage increase in wages. The revised wage for Rajasthan is Rs 255 per day, up from Rs 231 in 2022-23. Bihar and Jharkhand have registered a percentage increase of around eight from last year. Last year, the daily wage for

Centre, civil society continue to spar over manual attendance for MGNREGS

Civil society says getting manual attendance approved by district officers is tedious

Parliamentary panel raises concerns over budget cuts for MGNREGA scheme

Even as a parliamentary standing committee raised concerns over the reduced fund allocation for the MGNREGA scheme, the government said there is "no dearth of money" if the demand arises for wage employment. The Standing Committee on Rural Development, which submitted its report in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, said the budget estimates for MGNREGS have been reduced by Rs 29,400 crore for 2023-24 when compared to the revised estimates of 2022-23. "The Act governing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme provides Right to Work' to such deprived sections of the rural populace who are willing to work. It is a last resort of succour for the jobless section who don't have any other means to feed them and their family members," the report said. "The role and importance of MGNREGA were visible during the corona pandemic times when it acted as a ray of hope for the needy in times of distress," it said. The ministry, in its response, stated that the scheme is ...

MGNREGA: Why govt's app-based attendance system is facing protest

Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh termed the recent measures steps to check corruption in the scheme and said the government would not compromise on transparency

ED seizes Rs 3.5 cr cash in MGNREGA fund scam involving IAS Pooja Singhal

In a latest development in the MGNREGA fund scam involving suspended IAS official Pooja Singhal and others, the ED conducted raids in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh at the premises of Mohammad Izhar Ansari