Govt schemes to pump cash in rural sector

NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government plans to pump in cash into rural homes under two major heads, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the National Rural Livelihood Mission, and ensure social pension for three months is distributed in one go by April 10 to help Indian villages cope with the national lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease.

With community work under the job guarantee scheme coming to a standstill, a large section of MGNREGS workers will be shifted to schemes for individuals, according to people aware of the matter. Unlike the large community projects that require up to 100 workers, the individual schemes, such as making cattle sheds or farm ponds, can be done by just one or two people working together, they added.

A meeting was held at Union rural development minister Narendra Singh Tomar’s residence on Thursday morning to prepare an action plan to tweak schemes to help people.

The Centre will release ₹4,431 crore in the next four days to meet arrears on wages and materials for MGNREGS, the people quoted above said. The money will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts through the direct benefit transfer scheme. Additionally, the government, will release FY20-21’s first instalment of MGNREGS funds in the first week of April to help the states clear all its dues, the government said on Thursday. The annual budget of MGNREGS is ₹61,000 crore.

The government has also decided that the construction of houses under the Prime Minister rural housing scheme (PMAY) — in which about one-fifth of MGNREGS workers find jobs — will continue. “Not many workers are involved in construction of a house in PMAY. So, this will not violate the broader health guidelines but at the same time ensure that the wheels of rural economy keep rotating,” a functionary present at the meeting said on condition of anonymity.

While officials don’t deny that a section of the MGNREGS workers may not find suitable jobs as large projects are stopped temporarily, they pointed out that beneficiaries under different schemes overlap in the rural map.

The Centre is also working with the states to ensure that pension — for widows, elderly and differently abled people — in rural India is released for three months in one go. The Union government gives amounts of ₹200, ₹200 and ₹300 respectively for the three categories. The different states’ matching amounts range from ₹100 to ₹1,500 for each beneficiary.

“Out of the annual allocation of ₹9,190 crore in social pension, the Centre will release ₹2,500 crore on April 1...,” said the functionary quoted.

While MGNREGS has 128 million active workers, the national rural livelihood mission, under which the women self -help groups get benefits, covers 68.4 million houses.