Centre sanctions Rs 983 crore for MGNREGA in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: The Union Ministry of Rural Development has sanctioned around Rs 983.50 crore for the implementation of projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREAGA) for the fiscal year 2022-23.

According to sources in the state Panchayat & Rural Development Department, out of amount around Rs 761.33 crore will be the wage component and around Rs 222.16 crore will be the materials component.

The wage component (labour budget) is paid to job card-holding workers through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. Payment for the materials component is disbursed against bills by the development blocks concerned from the state-level e-FMS (Fund Management System) account.

Till the second week of September, 3,29,20,382 man-days of work was provided to 15,28,772 job card holders in Assam.

In the 2021-22 financial year, around 9.16 crore man-days were generated, which was an all-time high for Assam. It was 40 per cent more than the original target of 6.5 crore man-days.

It may be mentioned that MGNREGA aims to provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural unskilled labour, thereby increasing economic security and decreasing migration of labour from rural to urban areas. MGNREGA differentiates itself from earlier welfare schemes by taking a grass roots-driven approach to employment generation. The programmes are demand-driven and provide legal provisions for appeal in case work is not provided or payments are delayed. The scheme is funded by the Central government which bears the full cost of unskilled labour and 75% of the cost of materials for works undertaken under this law. The Central and state governments audit the works undertaken under this Act through annual reports prepared by CEGC (Central Employment Guarantee Council) and the SEGC (State Employment Guarantee Councils).

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