FM Announces Rs 2.66 Lakh Crore For Rural Infra, MGNREGS Allocation Raised To Match Revised Estimate

In the Union Budget 2024-25, the government has made a provision of Rs 2.66 lakh crore for rural development that will include rural infrastructure projects as well, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

This was the first full-year budget of the PM Narendra Modi-led coalition government. The finance minister had presented an interim budget on February 1, 2024.

Presenting the budget in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, she also said three crore additional houses will be constructed under the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY) in rural and urban areas.

During the interim budget speech in February, Sitharaman had announced that two crore more houses will be built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana -Gramin (PMAY-G) over the next five years. The scheme executed under the Ministry for Rural Development (MoRD) provides assistance in building pucca houses and basic amenities to eligible beneficiaries in rural areas. It was last extended by the union cabinet beyond March 2021 to March 31, 2024, to complete the target of constructing 2.95 crore houses.

As stated by the MoRD in Parliament in December last year, against the target of 2.95 crore houses, more than 2.94 crore houses have been sanctioned to the beneficiaries by various states and Union Territories, while 2.51 crore houses have been completed as on December 7, 2023.

She also announced the launch of the phase-4 of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations. “Phase-4 of the PMGSY will be launched to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations, which have become eligible in view of their population increase,” the minister said in her budget speech.

Meanwhile, the government increased the allocation for its flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for 2024-25 to match the revised estimate of Rs 86,000 crore. The scheme has been allocated Rs 60,000 crore for FY24 and the revised estimate was pegged at Rs 86,000 crore.

MGNREGS is a demand-driven scheme that allows 100 days of work to unskilled members of a rural household. Last year, the budget for the scheme was reduced, which was flagged by the Opposition as well as activists.

MGNREGS activists, however, are of the view that there has not been an increase in the allocation since the government has just made it enough to match the revised estimate while the expenditure on the scheme is over Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

Nikhil Dey of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), closely working with MGNREGS workers, said, “There is no actual increase. The government hasn’t even considered inflation. The year started at a deficit and again it will run into shortage around the middle of the year. This is a social security scheme, which needs monetary strengthening.”