MGNREGA to help most vulnerable households

New Delhi: The Centre is banking on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) scheme to ensure steady income to most vulnerable households belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and widows. The rural development ministry has directed all states to focus on individual-beneficiary works under MGNREGA, including digging of compost pits, perennial work like planting mango trees or repair work in agricultural fields, digging and repair work of wells. Such work require employment of 2-3 labourers.

“As per our estimates, about 50% of work under MGNREGA are individual beneficiary works. We have asked states to ensure that they go on even during lockdown while following strict social distancing measures,” a senior official told ET. The ministry has asked states to give work to identified vulnerable households of SCs, STs and women-headed households. The Centre expects that this would yield employment, especially as agricultural activities are allowed during the 21-day lockdown.

The Centre has also moved to clear all arrears pertaining to wages and material payments. The ministry of rural development has decided to clear all backlog for the financial year ending March 31 by April 15. It has released Rs 4,431 crore to states to liquidate all arrears and ensure that any pending wages to labourers are cleared. So far, there is a delay of 15 days or more in payment of wages to MGNREGA workers. With this tranche of money released to states, the backlog would be cleared. The government had also announced increase in MGNREGA wages by an average of Rs 20 last week.