Rs 7,108 crore received under MGNREGA in last 7 years: Ratan

Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Thursday predicted that the newly enacted VBGRAMG scheme will be proved more beneficial for small states like Tripura in comparison to MGNREGA and welcomed the fundamental changes made in the Act which would replace MGNREGA.

According to the Minister, the biggest highlight of the new scheme is the increase in total mandays generated throughout the year. “Earlier, it was 100 days and now it has been increased to 125 days. Under the NDA government led by Prime Minister Modi, rural development has witnessed a paradigm shift. Under the MGNREGA scheme, the budget allocations had been increased substantially. Compared with the Congress-led UPA government, between 2005 to 2014, the total allocation under MGNREGA was Rs 2 lakh 13 thousand crore and in the last ten fiscal years, it has been increased to Rs 7 lakh 80 thousand crore. The average annual allocation under the NDA regime is pegged at Rs 86,000 crore against Rs 33,000 crore under the UPA regime,” the Minister explained.

In Tripura, the Minister said, “Tripura has received a total of Rs 7,108 crore under MGNREGA scheme while in the last seven years of CPIM rule, the total fund received stands at Rs 6,490 crore. In our last seven years, 8 lakh 10 thousand assets were created while under CPIM rule 6 lakh 67,232 assets were created. As wages Rs 5,332 crore had been received during the BJP rule while during CPIM rule Rs 4,240 crore has been received in the last seven years.”  

Highlighting the changes that had been brought about in the scheme, Nath said, “In the new scheme small states have to bear the 10 percent burden of the expenses while the centre will bear the remaining. The act lays emphasis on efforts to conserve water which was identical to the previous act. Apart from that, administrative allocation has been increased to 9 percent from 6 percent. Timely payment of wages, livelihood generation, efforts to address climate change and disaster management activities had been incorporated freshly in the new scheme.”  

According to Nath, the new act will pave the way for more fund allocation in rural areas. “Tripura has been constantly doing well in MGNREGA. Almost every year, we secure a place in the five best performing states of the country. In interior pockets like Chawmanu, Gnganagar, Raisyabari, Ampi and Mungiakami we have set a precedent of generating average man-days of 90 days in every fiscal year. So far I understand, the new scheme will open more livelihood opportunities for the rural masses,” he added.

He also revealed that the total number of job card holders in the state is more than 6 lakh while the total number of beneficiaries under the scheme is more than 10 lakh.