The Centre has allowed creation of 30 crore mandays in Rajasthan in the revised labour budget for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
The decision, which will entail the allocation of an additional ₹1,500 crore, follows the State’s impressive performance under the statutory scheme.
Additional Chief Secretary (Rural Development) Rajeshwar Singh said here on Friday that no irregularities were found in the NREGA works undertaken in 30 of the 33 districts in the State in an assessment made by the Union Ministry of Rural Development.
Payment of wages
“Against the target for creating 23 crore mandays in 2019-20, Rajasthan has already created 24 crore mandays with the utilisation of the budget allocated to it,” Mr. Singh said. The additional allocation would facilitate the payment of wages amounting to ₹600 crore to labourers and procurement of the material component worth ₹1,026 crore, he added.
Employment issue
Mr. Singh raised the issue of the increasing demand for employment by the rural families in the State at a meeting presided over by Union Rural Development Secretary Amarjeet Sinha in New Delhi over the week-end.