Over 50 million job cards of MGNREGA workers deleted in 2022-23; 7.4 million this financial year

Names are deleted without the knowledge of workers or following proper procedure, claim activists

MGNREGA expert panel suggests more budget, annual revision of wage rates 

Nine-member committee was headed by former rural development department secretary Amarjeet Sinha

DTE Ground Report: Why MGNREGA workers in West Bengal are in dire straits

The Centre has blocked the state’s funds for the rural employment scheme for over a year, jeopardising the economic conditions of many villagers

Central funds freeze: MGNREGA workers in West Bengal trapped in vicious cycle of illness and poverty

Workers struggling to make ends meet, have had to put new and existing health issues aside    

Threadbare clothes, school drop outs due to lack of uniforms: West Bengal MGNREGA workers’ lives in tatters

Central government’s freeze on funds for rural employment scheme has completely degraded villagers’ living conditions

Surviving on fish from gutter, rice: West Bengal workers bear brunt of Central freeze on MGNREGA funds

DTE ground report finds pending wages and non-commissioning of work for over a year making it hard for workers to survive

MGNREGA: Workers call for scrapping of attendance scheme at Jantar Mantar protest 

The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha alleged that the claims of government about smooth functioning of the scheme were false and misleading  

Budget 2023-24: Fund allocated for MGNREGA can provide just 17 days of work

Unjust allocation by the Modi-led government is an assault on the rights of rural workers, say activists

Budget 2023-24: ‘Blood bath’ of MGNREGA as welfare scheme sees lowest allocation in last 2 years

Experts claim the reduced budget allocation to Rs 60,000 crore will not provide any employment to the economically vulnerable population

Bengal MGNREGA workers lost up to Rs 6,046 crore in wages during April-December 2022

 A study estimates that workers have lost income by 83%, compelling them to borrow money for survival 

MGNREGA graft: Social audit finds irregularities worth Rs 54 lakh in Rajasthan

Corruption was unearthed in 2022 after the workers from Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Barmer reported the issue to the Rajasthan government

Culture of random, centralised monitoring is killing the spirit of MGNREGA

We do not need systems that alienate people from work and give further control to bureaucracy and frontline functionaries who are responsible for …

Protestors clash with cops outside Punjab CM’s house over MGNREGA, commons land

Bhagwant Mann was away in Gujarat, campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the state legislative assembly elections

COVID-19 lockdown meant no MGNREGA work for 39% job card holders

Over 2,000 households surveyed across four states; Massive expansion of work scheme needed to meet demand, finds study  

Graft claims in MGNREGA squeezing poor workers, millions unpaid for months

Zero funds to Bengal, Lakshadweep this year, Centre admits in Parliament; activists ask to use pre-existing mechanisms to handle graft

Unpaid for months, MGNREGA workers protest in national capital

3-day demonstation by workers from across the country; Demand for more funds allocation to employment programme

Rural distress: Demand for MGNREGA work sees spike again

This points to rural distress despite absence of COVID-19 restrictions on economic activities for past few months   

MGNREGA: Rs 1,281 crore in pending wages; minister says enough funds

Union Ministry of Rural Development has, however, sought additional resources for the scheme

MGNREGA never intended to pay workers based on caste: Jean Drèze

Economist and honorary professor at the Delhi School of Economics, Jean Drèze speaks to Down To Earth

Wages of fear: How did COVID-19 geographic shift affect MGNREGA implementation?

The understanding should be part of India’s contingency plan to support rural livelihoods in the event of a third wave of the pandemic

Will MGNREGA help again? Rs 1,387 crore pending in wages

Migrant workers are returning to their home states again as COVID-19 pandemic lashes out brutally at several urban centres 

Nuapada loved MGNREGA amid COVID-19 lockdown; what happened next?

Villagers who benefitted earlier shy away from jobs progamme as unpaid dues pile up since October 2020

MGNREGA: 15 years of moving from crisis to solutions

How the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme been used by India 

World Water Day: How Indian villages used 15 years of MGNREGA

A look at how the world’s largest public wage programme has helped fight water shortage and revive India’s agrarian economy

Watch how MGNREGA help villages beat poverty in Bundelkhand

Meegni & Himmatpura were troubled by water scarcity like several other villages of the region