Parliamentary panel urges review of NREGA app

The parliamentary standing committee on rural development has flagged the difficulties beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) are facing with the introduction of the NMMS App and has asked the rural development ministry to review its implementation.

It also noted the reduced fund allocation by the Centre to the scheme.

In its report tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, it said the allocation for the MGNREGS has been reduced by Rs 29,400 crore for 2023-24 when compared to the revised estimates for 2022-23.

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The government pointed out that the MGNREGS is a demand-driven scheme, and that there is “no dearth of money” if the demand arises for wage employment.

The committee said it understands the need to introduce the NMMS app. However, the “flip side” is that capturing two real-time photographs in a day hinges upon the availability of smartphones and proper internet connectivity.

It said the MGNREGA beneficiaries belong to extremely deprived sections of society, belonging to different linguistic milieus.

“Expecting the MGNREGA workers to be well versed with the functioning and language of the app or for that matter even depending upon a nodal human intervention perhaps adds to their woes,” the committee noted.

It urged upon the Department of Rural Development “to review the implementation of attendance app holistically while taking into consideration the ground reality and challenges being faced by MGNREGA workers and come out with an acceptable provision at the earliest.”

The committee said that there is a 15.89 per cent hike in the total budgetary allocation of the Department of Rural Development for the financial year 2023-24 and a 172.44 per cent increase in the budget of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin while MGNREGA has seen a drop of 17.81 per cent in its budget, the National Social Assistance Programme has witnessed a drop of 0.17 per cent while Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana’s allocation is the same as that of the previous year.

“The role and importance of MGNREGA were visible during the Covid-19 pandemic times when it acted as a ray of hope for the needy in times of distress,” the report said.