Govt Owes Rs 6,366 Crore MGNREGA Wages To 18 States, UTs: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge

Lauding the UPA government's flagship rural employment guarantee programme MGNREGA, the Congress president said that the Narendra Modi-led government has cut one-third of its budget.

"MGNREGA was a lifesaver during the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and acted as safety net to crores of workers, making up for 80 per cent of their income loss during the pandemic," Mallikarjun Kharge said.

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The government owes Rs 6,366 crore in MGNREGA wages to 18 states and union territories, claimed Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday. Lauding the UPA government's flagship rural employment guarantee programme MGNREGA, the Congress president also said that the Narendra Modi-led government has cut one-third of its budget.

"On this day in 2005, our Congress-UPA Government enacted MGNREGA to ensure 'Right to Work' to crores of people," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a tweet. 

On this day in 2005, our Congress-UPA Govt enacted MGNREGA to ensure ‘Right to Work’ to crores of people.

Even though Modi Govt has cut MGNREGA’s budget by 33%, this year and it owes ₹6,366 crore in MGNREGA wages to 18 States and Union Territories, yet this flagship programme… pic.twitter.com/65Aqd3D9Rs

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 23, 2023

"Even though Modi Government has cut MGNREGA's budget by 33 per cent, this year and it owes Rs 6,366 crore in MGNREGA wages to 18 States and Union Territories, yet this flagship programme started by the Congress party still supports 14.42 crore active workers, more than half of them are women," Kharge said.

"MGNREGA was a lifesaver during the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic and acted as safety net to crores of workers, making up for 80 per cent of their income loss during the pandemic," he further added.

The Congress also praised the scheme for providing livelihood to millions. 

"On this day, MGNREGA was passed under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. Providing livelihood security to millions ever since, MGNREGA made up for up to 80per cent income loss during pandemic and played a positive role in helping people sustain their livelihood in difficult times," the party said in a tweet. 

Notably, the Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj has criticised the government for reducing the allocation for the MGNREGA program, expressing concerns about its potential negative impact on rural employment efforts.

This fiscal year, the budget for MGNREGA saw a reduction, with an allocation of Rs 60,000 crore for FY24. In the previous financial year, the government had earmarked Rs 73,000 crore for MGNREGA, and the revised budget estimates indicated an expenditure of Rs 89,400 crore.

As per a PTI report, the panel said it is a steep reduction of Rs 29,400 crore from the revised estimates stage of FY23. In a report presented in the Lok Sabha, the parliamentary committee drew attention to the fact that the government had outstanding liabilities amounting to Rs 6,231 crore for wages and Rs 7,616 crore for materials under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Act (MGNREGA) as of January 25 this year.