(a) the total number of person days of work that has been generated under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during the current financial year, State-wise;

(b) the budgetary allocation for MGNREGS in 2017-2018;

(c) whether there is a spurt in demand for work under the scheme, if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;

(d) whether his Ministry has sought additional allocation of funds to meet the spurt in demand for work under the scheme, if so, the details thereof and the response of the Ministry of Finance thereto; and

(e) the steps taken by the Government to release the funds to States in a time bound manner so that the States are financially prepared to make timely payment for the work done?

MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI NARENDRA SINGH TOMAR)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.


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Statement in reply to Parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 152 for 28.12.2017

(a): The State/UT-wise details of persondays generated under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) during the current financial year (as on 22.12.2017) is given at Annexure.

(b): The Budgetary Allocation of MGNREGS for the Budget Estimate for the Financial Year 2017-18 is Rs.48, 000 crore.

(c): The employment provided under MGNREGA is based on demand from households willing to do unskilled manual work. The demand for employment under MGNREGS depends significantly on monsoon conditions, with a higher demand for work for which there is provision for an additional 50 days allocation over and above 100 days to the notified drought affected areas. The Ministry in the last 3 years has also emphasized on construction of rural infrastructure through convergence with MGNREGA. Individual Household Latrines (IHHL) for PMAY-G beneficiaries, infrastructure for agricultural and allied activities have also been promoted in the last 2 years. As a result of these efforts, the total employment generated in MGNREGA in 2016-17 reached to 235.77 crore persondays which was the highest in the last 6 years.

(d): The Ministry has sought additional financial resources of Rs.17500 crore approximately for MGNREGS for meeting demand for work due to deficient rain & problem of floods in some States and increase in the wage rate. The Ministry of Finance has allocated additional fund of Rs.6000 crore in the Second Supplementary Demand for Grants 2017-18.

(e): For timely release of funds, the Ministry has taken steps to streamline the process of planning of realistic Labour Budget. It has issued guidelines on Labour Budget planning with three checklists to the States/ UTs to ensure that the documents prepared and submitted by the State/ UTs are in order.
The Ministry releases funds to the States periodically in two tranches with each tranche consisting of one or more instalments based on agreed to Labour Budget (LB), opening balance, pending liabilities of the previous year, if any, pace of utilization of funds and overall performance.