New Delhi: Union Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh Friday said there is no shortage of funds for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS), while hitting out at opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which have been targeting the Modi government over non-release of funds.
The rural development ministry has asked the finance ministry for a supplementary budget of Rs 28,000 crore, two senior officials later told ThePrint.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said: “Unnecessary issues are being created by opposition parties. There can be no deficit of funds in MGNREGS; it is a demand-driven scheme. We have asked the finance ministry for funds and we will get it. There is no shortage of funds.”
Senior ministry officials said that the matter has been taken up with the finance ministry, though a proposal is yet to be sent. “We have been assured that the funds will be released soon,” a senior ministry official aware of the development told ThePrint.
While TMC has been protesting non-release of funds under the scheme for West Bengal, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the government of budget cuts in the flagship employment scheme.
With Rs 28,000 crore, the total allocation this year will come to Rs 88,000 crore for MGNREGS — just Rs 1,400 crore short of last fiscal’s revised estimates of Rs 90,810 crore.
Though the funds are yet to be released by the finance ministry, a senior official said: “This will not hamper the scheme on the ground. There is no issue related to funds with states, except West Bengal.”
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Deadlock over West Bengal continues
In a post on X on 6 October, Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had slashed the budget for MGNREGA this year despite a demand for the scheme.
ग्रामीण भारत में आर्थिक संकट इतना गहरा है कि सितंबर में मनरेगा की डिमांड 4 वर्षों में 30% बढ़ गई है।
प्रधानमंत्री जी, इस बारे में कुछ करने के बजाय अपनी विकराल विफलताओं को भाषण तले छिपाने के लिए, चुनावी राज्यों में कांग्रेस को कोस रहें हैं।
बेतहाशा घटती घरेलू आमदनी और महँगाई की… pic.twitter.com/b4Xa5GAXTS
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) October 6, 2023
Since 9 March 2022, the central government has stopped funds for West Bengal citing major financial irregularities in the implementation of the scheme in the state.
When asked when funds would be released to the state, Giriraj Singh said: “The funds were stopped as major financial irregularities were found in the implementation of the scheme. The funds will be released when we are convinced that the scheme is being implemented in a transparent manner”.
He also hit out at the TMC, which has been accusing the Modi government of withholding MGNREGA funds for West Bengal and has holding protests in the national capital over the issue. “Their intention was not to discuss the issue. They just wanted to create a scene.”
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)