FY24 MGNREGS budget might last just a few months if enough work provided

During below-normal monsoon years, MGNREGS acts as a cushion for rural labourers who find it difficult to get work in the fields and farms

The government’s FY24 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment. Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) budget estimate pegged at Rs 60,000 crore could last for only six to seven months provided adequate work is provided and there is no artificial suppression of demand, experts and civil society representatives said.

This could also mean that unless there is an infusion of funds for MGNREGS during the middle of the year, allocations could start drying up around September when incidentally the possible impact of a likely sub-par monsoon could also start showing up.

During below-normal monsoon years, MGNREGS acts as a cushion for rural