Person-days of work under MGNREGA amid Covid-19 crisis: A reality check

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been one of the main avenues for the Centre to provide employment to returning migrants and others in rural areas who have been rendered jobless due to the lockdown.
 

However, there are questions as to whether the support provided so far is adequate and if the government further needs to augment its budgetary allocation, if the demand persists.

 

The following graphics show the person-days of work provided so far (April-June 15) in 2020-21, against the projected person-days of 2.8 billion. This number is expected to rise after the addition of 200 million more person-days of work as Covid relief.

 

The same is compared with previous years. Projected person-days is a broad assessment of the amount of work that states and Centre plan to provide each month during a given financial year. This, however, is subject to change depending upon the demand, as has been the case in 2020-21.