NREGA Plan allocation hiked by a whopping 87.5% for FY'09

NEW DELHI: The Government has effected a whopping 87.5 per cent increase in the Plan allocation for its flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Act programme in the interim Budget presented here today, though for 2009- 2010, it made only 0.33 per cent hike in the Plan allocation.

Giving thrust to NREGA, which has been one of the highlights of the UPA government, the interim Budget today increased the Plan allocation for the current fiscal for NREGA from the initial Rs 16,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore, an 87.5 per cent increase.

However, for 2009-10, the Plan allocation has been kept at Rs 30,100 crore, an increase of mere 0.33 per cent over the current fiscal's Plan allocation of Rs 30,000 crore.

In fact, while the Interim Budget has made a 68.4 per cent increase in the total revised allocation for the Rural Development Ministry for the current fiscal, it has reduced the allocation for the ministry for the next fiscal.

The original Plan allocation for the ministry for the current fiscal was Rs 38,500 crore, which was later revised to Rs 64,854 crore, an increase of 68.4 per cent. But for 2009-2010 Rs 55,170 crore has been allocated for the ministry, a decrease of 14.93 per cent from 2008-09.