The Act is set to come into force across the entire country starting July.
“This legislation will pave the way for renewed hope, enhanced income security and large-scale sustainable development initiatives in villages for the rural poor, labourer-families, women, self-help groups and farmers,” said Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in a release.
“Effective July 1, labourers in rural areas seeking employment will now be provided with 125 days of work per year-an increase from the previous provision of 100 days,” the release quoted him as saying. During this interim period, all provisions of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) would remain in force and any pending works would be completed under the MGNREGA framework prior to July 1, he added. The process of formulating the rules for the new Act was currently under way, following extensive consultations with the states. “However, the government remains committed to ensure that no labourer is deprived of employment during this transition phase. Comprehensive arrangements have already been put in place to guarantee this,” he said.
According to him, under the ‘Viksit Bharat G-Ram G’ initiative, most states will have a maximum of six months to complete the necessary preparations. If any state failed to complete the requisite preparations by July 1St, the funding pattern for works undertaken after July 1st would be governed by the ‘Viksit Bharat G-Ram G’ scheme.
The Government of India has allocated over Rs. 95,000 crore in its budget to generate employment through this scheme. States have also made provisions in their respective budgets for its implementation and the combined allocation from both the Centre and the states would exceed Rs.1,51,000 crore.
Payments to labourers will be made via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) into their bank or post office accounts. While the aim will be to process payments within three days, the objective is to ensure that all procedures are completed and the funds reach their accounts within a maximum of 15 days. If the funds are not received within 15 days, labourers will be entitled to delayed payment compensation, and an additional amount will have to be paid in cases of delayed disbursement.
“If employment is not provided upon request, an unemployment allowance must also be paid,” he said.
