Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Monday accused the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of trying to “throttle” the rural job guarantee scheme or MGNREGA, and said the Union Budget must increase allocation for the scheme, address technological glitches in the Aadhaar-based payment system and hike the number of workdays.

The scheme, Ramesh pointed out, continues to be the only lifeline for crores of India’s poorest families.

“One of the earliest indications of Prime Minister Modi's uncaring attitude and shortsightedness was his mockery of MGNREGA on the floor of the Parliament in 2015,” Ramesh, general secretary (communications), All-India Congress Committee, wrote in his statement.

“In the years since, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, MGNREGA has conclusively demonstrated its utility as one of the few social security interventions that the Government can execute. From a pre-pandemic total of 6.16 crore households requesting work under the scheme in 2019-20, the numbers jumped by around 33% to 8.55 crore in 2020-2021. For these crores of families, MGNREGA was the only lifeline amidst the chaos of the Government's unplanned lockdowns.

“Amidst an ongoing economic slowdown, there continue to be 9.31 crore active workers that are employed under the programme as of January 2025. Close to 75% of these workers are women. Despite this reality, the Government continues to perpetuate a policy of indifference to their plight,” he added.

He highlighted some points.

“As share of GDP, allocations to MGNREGA have reduced to 0.26% in 2024-25,” he wrote. “The World Bank recommends that at least 1.7% of the GDP should be allocated to this programme.

“Of the budgetary allocations made to MGNREGA, estimates suggest that about 20% of the budget is paid towards clearing dues from previous years

“The minimum average notified wage rate was increased by 7% in FY25 — at a time when Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation is estimated to be around 5%. The real wage increase is therefore a miserly 2%.

“Between 2019-20 and 2023-24, close to 4 crore job cards were deleted. Meanwhile, only 1.2 crore job cards have been added in the last two years. Estimates from one state suggest that 15% of the deletions were wrongful

“On January 1, 2024, the Central Government made it mandatory that all payments for MGNREGA must be through the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS). However, 27% of workers are ineligible for payment under the ABPS — their demand for work is not registered. Many also lose their wages despite doing work.

“The National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) is also required for workers to register attendance. However, glitches in the app, limited access to smartphones, and irregular connectivity have resulted in widespread prevalence of unregistered attendance, unrecorded work, and delayed wage payments.

“During the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, MGNREGS workers from across the country raised these issues at the Jan Sunwai held at Ranka, Garhwa District, Jharkhand on 14th February 2024. Eight months later, these issues continue to persist — a government-created human, economic, and institutional tragedy,” he wrote.

The Congress makes the following demands from the Union Budget, several of which have already found place in the Demand for Grants Report (2024-2025) put forth by the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, he wrote.

“MGNREGA was envisioned as a demand-driven scheme, with workdays depending on the individuals applying for work rather than Government budgets. Especially given the worsening economic downturn, the Budget must make adequate financial provision to realise this vision. • Amidst a decade-long crisis of stagnant wages, an increase in MGNREGA wages - as envisioned in the Congress Nyay Patra for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections -assumes renewed importance.

“The forthcoming Union Budget must increase MGNREGA wages, with the goal of hitting Rs 400 per day as a national minimum wage.

“MGNREGA wages cannot be set by the arbitrary whims of the Government. A Standing Committee must be established to evaluate the need for changes in the wage rate.

“The Aadhar Based Payment Bridge Systems (ABPS) must not be made mandatory

“Wages must be paid within the statutory period of 15 days and any delay in payment must be compensated

“The number of workdays under MGNREGA must be increased from 100 to 150 days,” the statement said.