Govt rejects Oppn charge on NREGA allocation cut

The government on Tuesday rejected the Opposition charge of a cut in budgetary allocation for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and said fund allocation for the scheme has been much higher than what it used to be during the UPA regime.

The Centre added that as many as 60 lakh new job cards are issued under the MGNREGA on average every year.

Responding to questions from KC Venugopal (Congress), TR Balu (DMK) and some other leaders, MoS Chandra Pemmasani said in the Lok Sabha that 57% of the rural development ministry's budget is allocated for MGNREGA.