Panel formed to revamp job guarantee scheme

Move hoped to direct more work to the country’s poorer regions

The federal rural development ministry has formed a panel to revamp its only job guarantee scheme in the hope of directing more work to the country’s poorer regions, a senior government official said yesterday.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, or MNREGA, was in high demand in the Asian nation’s rural areas as they emerged from the pandemic amid soaring inflation and limited non-farm job opportunities.

Residents of relatively affluent states, however, may have fared better in securing work under the key anti-poverty job programme, triggering calls for changes to the scheme, the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

“The panel will recommend institutional mechanisms, including governance and administrative structures, for more effective utilisation of funds, especially to address poverty,” the official said in New Delhi.

The spending of states such as Bihar and Odisha, for instance, under the jobs scheme lags those of states such as Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, which have a higher per capita income, government data shows.

The panel, which is expected to submit its report by January, will examine expenditure trends across various states and identify reasons for variations, the official added.

The federal rural development ministry, which manages the programme, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.