The UPA’s flagship scheme National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) appears to be losing steam, as financial performance for the current year till the month of October indicates only five states having spent more than 50 per cent of the allotted fund.
While the BJP-ruled Gujarat (63 per cent) leads the pack of states in utilisation of NREGS funds, states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Karnataka have lagged behind in the first six months of the current financial year.
However, it has been states having relatively lesser population such as Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Assam and Puducherry which have been able to utilise more than 50 per cent of allotted funds.
The financial performance report card of bigger states and particularly those where there are higher expectations of demands for employment under the NREGS indicates that they need to expedite execution of works. Bihar could spend only 22 per cent of the total available fund of `1,304.23 crores for the current year, while the same in the case of Karnataka is 26 per cent out of its total available fund of `2,244 crores.
While West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had been demanding an economic package for her state from the Centre, she does not appear to have pushed for utilisation of NREGS funds of `2,046 crores, as her state has spent only 36 per cent till middle of October. Orissa (34 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (30 per cent), Uttarakhand (28 per cent) and most of north-eastern states appear to be lagging behind in taking advantage of NREGS.
However, Uttar Pradesh, which is amidst a war of words with rural development minister Jairam Ramesh for irregularities, has been able to spend about 46 per cent of the total fund of `4,635 crore.
Though the NREGA entitles 100 days of guaranteed work an year for those demanding in the rural areas, the actual national average still remains about 46, which in fact has come down from above 50, which was achieved a couple of years ago.
This year, officials said, about 60 lakh works have been taken up and after seven months only 3.52 lakh of them have been completed.