AP contributes 30% of India’s NREGS man-days

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh stands top in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in India in the current fiscal in terms of generating man-days. As against the 5.01 crore man-days across India as on May 5 in the current fiscal, AP, with 1.60 crore man-days, contributed nearly 30 per cent of the national total.

While 66 lakh people from 47 lakh families took part in the MGNREGS works across the nation, around 25 lakh from 17 lakh families participated in the works in AP alone.“Because of the outbreak of coronavirus, some States just commenced the works and some others are yet to begin works. However, as we have taken up the works in April-first, we are top on the chart now,” a senior official of the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development department said.

The official, however, admitted that the State is lagging behind in terms of reaching the target. As against the target of 21 crore man-days in the 2020-21 fiscal, the State has not completed 10 per cent of it because of COVID-19 pandemic. “We used to reach at least 60 per cent of the annual target of MGNREGS works in the first quarter of the fiscal (April to June). But we have managed to reach only 8 per cent target in the first month of this fiscal as a result of COVID-19.

However, as most of the States did not take up the works, we stood top in the table,” the official explained.
As against 17,78,090 workers reported across the State on Monday (May 4), Vizianagaram, the only green zone district in the State,  stood top with 2,37,263. Prakasam district with 2,23,842 workers stood second followed by East Godavari (1,99,963), Kurnool (1,62,930), Anantapur (1,34,176), Krishna (1,33,166). With only 36,552 workers, Nellore district stood at the bottom.