Govt: 8% families got 100 days of work under NREGA in last 3 FYs

NEW DELHI: Less than 8% of families, which received employment under MGNREGA, could get the guaranteed 100 days of work in last three financial years, a govt presentation at a parliamentary committee meeting stated, with average days of employment per household pegged at around 50 in last three fiscals.Participation of SC/STs and women workers in the rural employment scheme was decidedly higher than their share in population, it said. Those familiar with the deliberations cited data shared by rural development ministry to say the respective share of SC/STs and women in ongoing financial year is over 36% and 56%, figures close to that of last three fiscal years. The average days of employment per family in this year is 36, a number which will rise as the financial year draws to a close and ranged between 47 and 52 days during the last three years. The number of families having received employment in the three years stood at an estimated 5.8 crore (2024-25), nearly 6 crore (2023-24) and 6.2 crore (2022-23), sources said, while those which got 100 days of work was over 40.7 lakh (7%), 45 lakh (7.5%) and 36 lakh (5.8%), respectively.A Congress member blamed govt for cutting down on funding and delay in releasing money, while BJP members raised the issue of financial irregularities in certain states and sought details from the ministry.Piloting VB-G RAM G, govt said monitoring of MGNREGA revealed gaps such as work not found on ground, expenditure not matching physical progress, use of machines in labour-intensive works, and frequent bypassing of digital attendance systems. The new law responds to this experience with a comprehensive legislative reset and strengthens the implementation framework, it said.Deliberations of the committee, which is headed by Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka, largely focused on MGNREGA after its earlier agenda to compare the outgoing law with VB-G RAM G Act had drawn protest from some BJP members.In another meeting, the parliamentary committee on defence reviewed resettlement policies and healthcare for ex-servicemen. LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi flagged difficulties faced by retired personnel in getting medical care, especially at private hospitals, as they are at times denied treatment due to their pending dues with govt. He also raised the issue of paltry financial assistance for certain categories of ex-servicemen suffering from serious diseases like cancer and pushed for raising the limit at the meeting chaired by BJP MP Radha Mohan Singh.