MGNREGA Job Delivery Issues

1. Dip in Job Demand & Mandays

• Nationally, work demand dipped ~8%—with a drop from 10.97 crore to 10.09 crore mandays in FY 2024‑25 .
• This reflects under-utilisation of the right to work despite official entitlements.

2. Payment Delays & Technology Failures

• In Karnataka, over 3,000 MGNREGA staff (data operators, supervisors) remained unpaid for 4 months due to software migration glitches (to SPARSH K2 PFMS).
• Nationally, delayed wages and pending dues (₹949 crore as of Jan 2025) have become systemic, even though mandated wage payments should be within 15 days, with delay compensation .

3. Digital Exclusion & Attendance Mechanism

• A 38% crowd in Jharkhand unable to receive payments due to Aadhaar‑bank linkage failure .
• Mandatory NMMS attendance app, launched Jan 2023, is causing wage denial due to low connectivity, poor staff training, and technical interruptions .

4. Corruption & Local-Level Manipulation

• In Raichur (Karnataka), villagers blocked GP offices, alleging fake job cards and attendance, with no actual work delivering funds to phantom workers.
• In Gujarat, a Mukhya’s son was arrested for embezzling crores via falsified job cards.

5. Institutional Weakness & Underfunding

• Central Employment Guarantee Council (statutory oversight body) hasn’t met in nearly 4 years, weakening accountability.
• Budget allocation for MGNREGA stagnated (~₹86,000 crore), dipping to 0.24% of GDP—despite rising demand—prompting activist warnings .

UPSC Relevance

Sample UPSC Mains Question

Q. Evaluate the effectiveness of MGNREGA in safeguarding rural employment rights. Examine the challenges posed by digitalisation, administrative failures, and its implementation at the grassroots level. Suggest reforms to strengthen the scheme.

Way Forward Suggestions

1. Strengthen digital infrastructure: improve connectivity, simplify NMMS, allow offline uploads.
2. Ensure timely payments: address PFMS glitches promptly, enforce delay compensation rigorously.
3. Institutional oversight: rejuvenate the central council and enforce regular reviews.
4. Enhance social audits: empower PRIs and local communities to identify fraud.
5. Fund adequacy: revise MGNREGA budget beyond 0.3% of GDP with inflation linkage