{"id":66971,"date":"2025-10-07T10:57:26","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T05:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=66971"},"modified":"2025-10-07T11:36:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T06:06:14","slug":"mnrega-centre-mandates-minimum-spending-on-water-conservation-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mnrega-centre-mandates-minimum-spending-on-water-conservation-works\/","title":{"rendered":"MGNREGA &#8211; Centre Mandates Minimum Spending on Water Conservation Works"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>MGNREGA Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) has <\/span><b>amended Schedule-I<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act <\/span><b>(MGNREGA), 2005.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is to ensure <\/span><b>a minimum proportion of funds is allocated for water conservation and harvesting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> works across rural India.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amendment aims to address <\/span><b>India\u2019s deepening groundwater crisis <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><b>promote sustainable rural livelihoods.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Background &#8211; Understanding Schedule-I of MGNREGA<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>MGNREGA provision<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Every state government shall introduce a scheme to provide at least 100 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every rural household, based on demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Schedule-I<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Lists permissible public works and defines the scheme\u2019s minimum features.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Amendment power<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: While changes to the Act need <\/span><b>Parliament\u2019s approval<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Centre can amend the Schedule <\/span><b>via notification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (issued by the Ministry of Rural Development [MoRD]) \u2014 done nearly 24 times since 2005.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>The Latest Amendment<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amendment inserts a new proviso <\/span><b>mandating minimum expenditure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on water-related works at the <\/span><b>block <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">level, <\/span><b>depending on groundwater status<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Earlier<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, 60% of district-level works (in terms of cost) had to create productive assets directly linked to agriculture and allied activities through development of land, water and trees.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, the <\/span><b>focus has shifted<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from district-level to block-level implementation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Proportion of expenditure on water works: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Categories as per &#8211;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>For over-exploited rural blocks<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (groundwater extraction&gt;100%), minimum 65% of MNREGA funds for water-related works.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>For critical rural blocks <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(90\u2013100%) &#8211;<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">65%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>For semi-critical<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (70\u201390%) &#8211; 40%<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>For safe<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u226470%) &#8211; 30%<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Reference of (above) categorisation:\u00a0<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Central Ground Water Board\u2019s (<\/span><b>CGWB<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) <\/span><b>Dynamic Ground Water Resources Assessment Report (2024)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> serves as the reference for categorisation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As per CGWB\u2019s report, there are total 6,746 blocks, out of which &#8211;<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Over-exploited blocks are 751 (11.13%)<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critical: 206 (3.05%)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Semi-critical: 711 (10.54%)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Safe: 4,951 (73.39%)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saline: 127 blocks<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Likely Benefits of the Decision<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Out of the Rs 86,000 crore allocated for MGNREGS in FY 2025\u201326, about <\/span><b>Rs 35,000 crore<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is expected to be directed toward water-related works.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>The states<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with the highest number of over-exploited and critical blocks will gain the most funds &#8211; <\/span><b>Rajasthan <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(214), Punjab (115), Tamil Nadu (106), Haryana (88), Uttar Pradesh (59).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Significance for Rural India<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Encourages <\/span><b>climate-resilient rural infrastructure<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aligns MGNREGA with the <\/span><b>Jal Shakti Abhiyan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Atal Bhujal Yojana<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reduces groundwater stress through <\/span><b>community-based interventions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promotes <\/span><b>employment generation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in water management sectors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Way Forward<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Integrated planning<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Convergence with schemes like <\/span><b>PM Krishi Sinchayi Yojana<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (PMKSY) and <\/span><b>watershed programmes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Capacity building<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Training for <\/span><b>Gram Sabhas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and local engineers for scientific water management.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Monitoring and transparency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Use of <\/span><b>GIS mapping and real-time dashboards<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for implementation tracking.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Sustainability focus<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Promote recharge structures, afforestation, and soil-water conservation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amendment marks <\/span><b>a strategic shift<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in India\u2019s rural employment and water management framework.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By linking MGNREGA works to groundwater sustainability, the government seeks to <\/span><b>tackle one of India\u2019s most pressing environmental challenges while strengthening rural livelihoods and climate resilience.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Effective execution<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the block and Gram Panchayat levels will be crucial for realising these objectives.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source: <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/mgnrega-amendment-water-blocks-works-10276632\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><b>IE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The MoRD has amended Schedule-I of the MGNREGA, 2005, to ensure a minimum proportion of funds is allocated for water conservation and harvesting works across rural India. 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