Union Minister of Rural Development Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan today chaired a review meeting to assess the performance and implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Rural Development, and other senior officials of the division.

The Union Minister emphasized the importance of fostering innovations and reforms to enhance the scheme's effectiveness while appreciating the scheme’s achievements. He further directed that transparency and accountability mechanisms under MGNREGS shall be strengthened. Measures shall be taken for preventing the misuse of public funds, ensuring custody of job cards with beneficiaries, and prohibiting the use of machinery at worksites.

Under MGNREGS, significant milestones have been achieved in FY 2024-25. A total of 187.5 crore person days have been generated, providing employment to 4.6 crore rural households. More than 56 lakh assets have been created, reflecting the scheme’s role in strengthening rural infrastructure. Approximately 44% and 55% of total expenditure has been incurred on Agri and allied activities and individual beneficiary works, which indicates focus on agriculture in the rural areas and increase in livelihood opportunities for vulnerable families respectively. Around 97% of fund transfer orders (FTOs) are being generated on time by the states/UTs ensuring timely payment of wages. An amount of ₹74,770.02 crore has been released to States/UTs for smooth implementation of the scheme. In current financial year, the states where the highest funds have been released from the centre are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha. Notably, women’s participation in the scheme has consistently exceeded 50% for the past five years, highlighting the inclusivity and enhancement of women’s empowerments under the scheme.

Targeted interventions in Natural Resource Management (NRM) and agriculture-related activities have yielded a substantial reduction in water-stressed blocks. From FY 2017-18 to FY 2023-24, the number of such blocks has declined from 2,264 to 1,456, with 1,519 blocks across 199 districts in 18 states removed from the water-stressed list. This reflects MGNREGS’s success in transitioning from water scarcity to water security.

A number of IT initiatives have been undertaken in the scheme. 99% of the wage payments are disbursed through Aadhaar Based Payment System. All the assets created under the scheme are geotagged. More than 6.18 crore assets have been geotagged till date. National Mobile Monitoring System App is being used for capturing of attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites (except for individual beneficiary works) along with geo-tagged photographs twice a day.  Approximately 96% attendance have been captured through use of NMMS App in the month of October, 2024. The regional trainings on Yuktdhara, a GIS-based planning portal developed by NRSC-ISRO are being carried out to facilitate holistic and scientific planning of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS activities at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level.

Conduct of social audit should be done in all the states/UTs adhering to the provisions of the Act. Independent Social Audit Directors should be appointed in all the States/UTs as per the guidelines of the Ministry. 11 States/UTs which do not have independent Directors should ensure their appointment at the earliest. These are Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana.

Ombudspersons have been positioned in 593 (80%) districts out total of 740 districts. In the remaining 147 districts, ombudsperson should be positioned in a time bound manner. The existing monitoring mechanisms under the scheme should be further strengthened. Monitoring through the Area Officer App must be ensured as per the allocated targets, with strict action in case of non-compliance, notices may be issued. Regular and quality field visits by the officers from the centre shall be ensured. Over 68,000 Amrit Sarovars have been created under Mission Amrit Sarovar. The Mission is to be continued for construction and rejuvenation of water bodies as Amrit Sarovars.

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SS