Centre releases Rs 28,022 crore under MGNREGA so far this year

NEW DELHI: The Centre has released more than Rs 28,000 crore so far this year to states under MGNREGA to clear the last year's liabilities and for running the programme in the ongoing year, Parliament was informed today.

Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA), funds are released to the states on the basis of agreed to labour budget and performance of the states.

"As on July 12, an amount of Rs 28,022.87 crore has been released to the states/UTs for liquidating the pending liabilities of 2015-16 (wages+material) and for running the prgramme during FY 2016-17," Minister of State for Rural Development Ram Kripal Yadav said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

For ensuring timely payment of wages, the central government has started National Electronic Fund Management System (NeFMS) in 11 states, Yadav said in a separate reply.

The state governments have been advised to notify the rules and implement the system of compensation for delay in wages payment and to review and discuss with the programme officers this, he added.

In another reply, the Minister also informed that special camps are being organised in campaign mode at block level or gram panchayat level for linking the Aadhaar numbers of MNREGA workers with their bank accounts.

MNREGA is a demand-driven wage employment programme. Not less than 100 days of employment are provided to registered workers upon receipt of their demand.

MNREGA provides a supplementary means of livelihood for the rural people, primarily during the lean periods and is not a substitute for all other employment opportunities.