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Only 11.66 crore person-days of work generated in November compared to 22.23 crore person-days in October under the rural employment guarantee scheme, according to a report.

The difference between the person-day work generation and work demanded was the highest in the month under review, reported The Economic Times.

In November 2019, the pre-Covid period, the work generated was 16.92 crore, while individual demand for work stood at 1.92 crore, the report said.

Demand and supply

According to MGNREGA data, 2.62 crore individuals demanded work in November. The number was 2.60 crore in the previous month. The number of households that demanded work stood at 2.10 crore (2.07 crore in October).

The Economic Times quoted experts as saying that migrants, who have been in the villages since lockdown in 2020, are yet to return.

The report quoted labour expert KR Shyam Sundar as saying that slower funds flow has slowed down at a time there is a renewed demand for work under MGNREGA in the post-harvest season.

Earlier it was reported that in the first five months of the current fiscal, 77% of the MGNREGA budget has already been utilised.

Out of the total allocated fund of Rs 73,000 crore, close to Rs 55,915.31 crore has already been utilised. An additional allocation of Rs 25,000 crore might be needed to meet the demand in the remaining part of FY22, the Business Standard had reported

Rural employment guarantee scheme

MGNREGA was launched in 2006 by PM Manmohan Singh-led UPA-I government. It was a flagship scheme of the erstwhile government that guaranteed at least 100 days of employment in a financial year to unskilled rural households at a pre-determined minimum wage. It was renamed MGNREGA in 2009. The scheme was a saviour for thousands of workers who returned to their native places following the nationwide lockdown in March 2020 due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.