MGNREGA ends FY22 with Rs 20,000 cr negative balance despite huge outlay

A large chunk of this amount is on account of unpaid material expenditure during the year and even earlier

Despite the Central Government's allocation of a hefty amount of Rs 98,000 crore in FY22 to MGNREGA, the financial year is expected to end with a net negative balance of about Rs 20,000 crore, latest provisional data sourced as on April 1, 2022 showed.

The negative balance is largely on account of pending material cost for the work done under the programme during the year and even earlier, while the proportion of pending wages in the total unpaid dues is considerably lower at just about Rs 1,840 crore, the data showed.

This could also mean that of the Rs 73,000