New Delhi, Nov 29 (PTI) Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Friday chaired a review meeting to assess the performance and implementation of the MGNREG scheme, and directed that transparency and accountability mechanisms under the scheme shall be strengthened.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary, Rural Development, and other senior officials of the division.

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The union minister emphasised the importance of fostering innovations and reforms to enhance the scheme's effectiveness while appreciating the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREG) scheme's achievements, the Rural Development Ministry said in a statement.

He also directed that transparency and accountability mechanisms under MGNREGS shall be strengthened, measures shall be taken for preventing the misuse of public funds, ensuring custody of job cards with beneficiaries, and prohibiting the use of machinery at worksites.

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The Ministry said under MGNREGS, significant milestones have been achieved in FY 2024-25.

"A total of 187.5 crore person days have been generated, providing employment to 4.6 crore rural households. More than 56 lakh assets have been created, reflecting the scheme's role in strengthening rural infrastructure," the Ministry said.

They said approximately 44 per cent and 55 per cent of total expenditure have been incurred on agriculture and allied activities and individual beneficiary works, which indicates focus on agriculture in the rural areas and increase in livelihood opportunities for vulnerable families respectively.

"Around 97 per cent of fund transfer orders (FTOs) are being generated on time by the states/UTs ensuring timely payment of wages. An amount of Rs 74,770.02 crore has been released to States/UTs for smooth implementation of the scheme," the Ministry added in its statement.

In the current financial year, the states where the highest funds have been released from the centre are Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Odisha.

Women's participation in the scheme has consistently exceeded 50 percent for the past five years, highlighting the inclusivity and enhancement of women's empowerments under the scheme, they added.

Targeted interventions in Natural Resource Management (NRM) and agriculture-related activities have yielded a substantial reduction in water-stressed blocks. From FY 2017-18 to FY 2023-24, the number of such blocks has declined from 2,264 to 1,456, with 1,519 blocks across 199 districts in 18 states removed from the water-stressed list.

"This reflects MGNREGS's success in transitioning from water scarcity to water security," the statement said.

They also said 99 per cent of the wage payments are disbursed through the Aadhaar Based Payment System (ABPS) and all the assets created under the scheme are geotagged.

"More than 6.18 crore assets have been geotagged till date. National Mobile Monitoring System App is being used for capturing of attendance of workers at Mahatma Gandhi NREGA worksites (except for individual beneficiary works) along with geo-tagged photographs twice a day".

Approximately 96 perent attendance have been captured through use of NMMS App in the month of October, 2024.

The regional trainings on Yuktdhara, a GIS-based planning portal developed by NRSC-ISRO are also being carried out to facilitate "holistic and scientific planning" of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS activities at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level.

The Ministry also said conduct of social audit should be done in all the states/UTs adhering to the provisions of the Act, adding that Independent Social Audit Directors should be appointed in all the States/UTs as per the guidelines of the Ministry.

So far, 11 States/UTs do not have independent Directors, and the Ministry said they should ensure their appointment at the earliest. These are Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand and Telangana.

Ombudspersons have been positioned in 593 (80 percent) districts out total of 740 districts. In the remaining 147 districts, ombudsperson should be positioned in a time bound manner.

The Ministry added that the existing monitoring mechanisms under the scheme should be further strengthened.

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