Sun Feb 02 07:04:39 UTC 2025: ## Congress Slams Govt. for Stagnant MGNREGA Budget
**New Delhi, February 2, 2025** – The Indian National Congress strongly criticized the government today for maintaining a stagnant budget of ₹86,000 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the 2024-25 financial year. This figure is unchanged from the previous year.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X, highlighted that despite rising rural distress and a previous year’s expenditure of ₹89,153.71 crore (including additional funds), the allocation remains static. He argued that this represents a real decline in funding when adjusted for inflation.
Ramesh further pointed out that approximately 20% of the budget is allocated to clearing previous years’ dues, effectively reducing the scheme’s reach and leaving vulnerable rural workers without support. He criticized the meager 7% increase in the minimum wage, significantly below the estimated 5% CPI inflation. This, he claimed, makes MGNREGA a symbol of the national wage stagnation crisis.
The MGNREGS, guaranteeing 100 days of wage employment to rural households, proved crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, with expenditure reaching ₹1,11,169 crore in 2020-21. The Congress contends that the government’s inaction exposes its indifference to rural livelihoods.
First Piper 