MGNREGA work demand highest for May, barring pandemic year, shows data

Around 31.74 million households sought work under the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in May, which is the highest for the month barring the Covid-19 pandemic year, data on the scheme’s website sourced on June 5 showed.

In April 2023, around 24.06 million households had sought work under the scheme. Though MGNREGS demand usually rises in April and May as the rabi harvest comes to an end and casual labourers have little work in hand, some experts say the continued demand in rural areas shows that economic benefits are not percolating down.

In FY24, the central government had budgeted Rs 60,000 crore for the scheme, which was around 33 per cent less than the Revised Estimate of FY23. In the past, the Centre had been adequately funding MGNREGS if there was any shortfall in funds. MGNREGS is a demand-driven scheme and fund allocation depends on work demand.