Sharp hike in demand for work under MGNREGA; ministry may seek more funds

A PTI report quoting senior officials says that the way demand for work has risen under the scheme during the first three months, sizeable fund allocation will be needed to meet the demand.

Rambeti from Pisawa village in Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh is in a dilemma. She says her family is about to finish 100 days of work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and she does not know what she will do for the rest of the year.

Rambeti isn’t alone.

Santosh Bando, of Namkum, a block on the outskirts of Ranchi (Jharkhand), a first-time MGNREGA worker, too, says he wants more work.

Rambeti and Bando are among the thousands of MGNREGA workers across 80 districts in the country who staged a protest a few days back demanding an increase in