Asset creation in MGNREGA has crossed 60% over last 9 years: Giriraj Singh
On Friday, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of reducing the budget for MGNREGA and said that the rural job scheme, which was the foundation of India’s rural economy, is becoming a victim of the Centre’s repressive policies.
New Delhi: Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Saturday said that in the last nine years of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, asset creation has crossed 60% in MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and that its mandate has seen a transformation from merely digging and filling holes.
He added that asset creation in the scheme during the United Progressive Alliance was 17%.
Speaking on the sidelines of the SARAS Mela in Noida, the minister took strong exception to a Facebook post of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, where he cited a news report on reduction in Budget allocation for MGNREGA.He also challenged Gandhi to debate on MGNREGA, both in terms of fund allocations and assets creation.
Singh asserted that during the 10-year rule of the Congress-led UPA, the BE (Budget Estimate) of MGNREGA never exceeded ₹33,000 crore and in most of the fiscals, the funds were surrendered due to poor implementation of the rural job scheme.
He said since PM Modi took charge, every year funds were higher in revised estimated than budgeted estimates.
It may be noted that in 2019-20, the BE was ₹60,000 crore and the RE went up to ₹71,000 crore, while in 2020-21 the BE of ₹61,500 Crore went to a whopping ₹one lakh 11 thousand and 500 crore rupees, a little less than the double initial allocation, due to reverse migration of rural population from cities to villages in the wake of COVID pandemic and the increased demand for work. Similarly, in the financial year 2021-2022, the BE of ₹73,000 crore touched ₹99, 117 crores.
On Friday, Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP-led government of reducing the budget for MGNREGA and said that the rural job scheme, which was the foundation of India’s rural economy, is becoming a victim of the Centre’s repressive policies.
On the question of Rahul Gandhi alleging that the government was misusing Aadhaar against the poor sections of society by linking it to MGNREGA, Singh said, the aim of Modi government is to bring full transparency in the implementation of the scheme.
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
MoreLess
First Published:18 Feb 2023, 06:11 PM IST
- Top Gainers
- Top Losers
- 52 Week High