MGNREGA: Govt hits back at Cong, questions its implementation under UPA

Accused of making a 'U-turn' on its stand on MGNREGA, the Centre today hit back at Congress, raising questions on implementation of the flagship rural job scheme during the UPA rule, and dismissed as "misinformation" the charge that it wanted to "close down" the programme.
Announcing that 186 crore person days' work was created under MGNREGA in the just concluded financial year, the government said there would be no dearth of funds for the scheme.
"Beneficiaries of MGNREGA felt cheated due to the manner in which the UPA implemented the scheme. We have tried to alleviate that. People are now coming forward for MGNREGA," Rural Development Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said.

Referring to enhanced allocation of funds for the scheme under the NDA government, Singh, who joined BJP in August last year, said since he had been in Congress, he can see the difference between implementation of the scheme under the previous and the present governments.
"At that time when the allocation was Rs 40,000 crore, the expenditure was around Rs 25,000 crore. This is the first year that the entire allocated sum has been spent. This year work worth more than Rs 43,000 crore has been done under MGNEGA. We have removed many lacunaues.
"It was this government that thought of spending 60 per cent on agriculture. We have actually succeeded in spending over 64 per cent of MGNREGA fund on it. MGNREGA is not limited to 100-day job creation but asset creation. Maintaining the 60:40 ratio, Rs 16,000 crore has been spent through convergence in MGNREGA and created quality assets. We devised new ways to implement MGNREGA in a proper manner," Singh said.

He was speaking to the media a day after the Union budget allocated Rs 38,500 crore for MGNREGA in 2016-17, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying if the total amount was spent, it will be the highest budget spending on MGNREGA.

"As far as the budget is concerned, it is the highest. As far expenditure is concerned, it is the highest," Singh asserted.
Regarding the demand to link MGNREGA wages to market rate and the constitution of the S Mahendra Dev-led Committee on the wage issue, the minister said the committee has given its report, which has already been accepted by the ministry and it has written to the Finance Ministry.

"The report recommends that MGNREGA wage should be at par with the existing agricultural wage in the state. This will entail an additional expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore for which I have made a demand from the Finance Ministry," Singh said.
Sources in the ministry said the committee wants the MGNREGA wage to be linked to rural Consumer Price Index. If it is accepted, the state wages and MGNREGA wages will be the same, the sources said.