With 1.42 lakh ambitious projects embarked upon by the state in the current financial year, both fresh ones and those carried over from the previous year, under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Punjab government could complete only 29,780 works (21%) to date, as per the data sourced from the Punjab Rural Development and Panchayat department.
Also, the Centre had hitherto released around Rs 675.62 crore out of the total available grant of Rs 1,204.37 crore for these works. And the state has utilised 53.2% (Rs 640.73 crore) of the total available financial grant to date. The annual target budget can be increased depending on the works.
As fas as employment generation and demographics is concerned, to date (that is, from April), the state has generated 178.05 lakh person-days with 68.78% being contributed by women, marking the highest percentage in the past five years. This year, the SC (Scheduled Caste) person-days constituted 72.79%. In the last FY, the state had generated 321.19 lakh person-days and spent approximately Rs 1,398 crore under the scheme.
This year, 18.04 lakh job cards were issued, compared to 21.62 lakh issued last year, and the active job cards currently stand at 11.82 lakh, down from 13.04 lakh last year. A notable 70.05% of active workers belong to the SC category this year.
Surprisingly, in 1,371 gram panchayats (GPs) out of a total of 13,319 GPs in the state, not a single penny has been spent under the scheme this year to date. This points to significant disparities in fund allocation and utilisation.
Projects under MGNREGA have two components: labour and material. Sixty per cent of the total funds allocated to the state under the scheme should be earmarked for labour expenses, while the remaining balance for materials.
The Punjab government makes such projects where the labour component is more and prefers projects in which material is not required because it is a central government scheme and the state’s financial share of 25% is only needed in the material component. It’s important to note that material procurement is based on credit, whereas wages are directly transferred to NREGA workers’ accounts.
As far as district-wise progress is concerned, while nine (nearly 40%) out of 23 districts have completed below 20% of the works, both new and spillover from the previous year, 11 districts have completed between 20% to 30% of the works, and only three districts have completed above 30% of the works. Mansa district tops the chart with a remarkable 45% completion rate.
In the Doaba region, Jalandhar completed only 666 works (13%) out of 5,000 taken up as new and spillover from the last FY. In Hoshiarpur, 2,659 works (27%) have been completed out of 10,000, while in Kapurthala, 646 (11%) have been completed out of 6,000, and in Nawanshahr, 715 (14.3%) works have been completed out of 5,000.
In the Majha region, Tarn Taran district’s performance is lowest in the entire state where only 100 works (1.4%) could be completed out of 7,000. While 682 works (14%) have been completed in Pathankot against 5,000, in Gurdaspur 2,843 works (26%) have been completed against 11,000, in Amritsar 1,979 works (20%) have been completed against 10,000.
District-wise progress in Malwa Region revealed that 590 works (30%) have been completed out of 2,000 in Faridkot, 726 works (24%) have been completed out of 3,000 in Barnala, while in Bathinda, 1,292 works (32%) have been completed out of 4,000. As many as 2,465 works (nearly 25%) have been completed out of 10,000 in Ludhiana, while in Malerkotla, 98 works (almost 10%) have been completed out of 1,000. While 1,337 works (45%) have been completed out of 3,000 in Mansa, 1,110 works (28%) have been completed out of 4,000 in Moga, 2,013 works (25%) have been completed out of 8,000 in Muktsar, 1,892 works (21%) have been completed out of 9,000 in Patiala, 345 works (7%) have been completed out of 5,000 in Ropar, 1,176 works (24%) have been completed out of 5,000 in Sangrur, 590 works (15%) have been completed out of 4,000 in Mohali, 1,085 works (18%) have been completed in Fatehgarh Sahib, 1,940 works (32%) have been completed out of 6,000 in Fazilka and 2,831 works (24%) have been completed out of 12,000 in Ferozpur.
Experts highlight that this central scheme presents an opportunity for significant rural development through central grants, with the state contributing only 25% towards the material component. However, even with the utilised grant, the much-needed infrastructure in villages remains elusive.
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