NEW DELHI: A government panel is suggesting big changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). This program was set up to give jobs to people in rural areas by promising 100 days of work each year for every household. The panel believes that areas with more poor families should get more job opportunities. They also want to start a special program to improve rural infrastructure where there are more job opportunities.
The nine-member committee, led by Amarjeet Sinha, shared its ideas with the government after studying how different states are managing this scheme. Some of the main recommendations include:
– Increasing the number of workdays per job card from 100 to between 150 and 200 days, especially in areas with more disadvantaged families.
– Regularly adjusting wages based on a five-year schedule.
– Making sure community development plans work hand in hand with MGNREGS projects.
– Finding ways to better manage and track how MGNREGS is working, using reliable, real-time data.
The report also pointed out issues like low wage rates affecting productivity, problems with a mobile monitoring system, and payment delays. It stressed that the wage should be set based on an index that considers inflation, like the Consumer Price Index for Rural Laborers.
While speaking about the scheme’s performance over 19 years, the committee recognized that it has helped many families during tough times. However, they also noted that it has had its share of problems due to poor implementation.
The government is expected to discuss these recommendations soon, and some changes could happen quickly. Still, any major changes needing more money will involve discussions with the finance ministry.
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