Budget 2016: Rs 38,500 Cr for the ‘Monument of Failures,’ MNREGA

Congress leaders slam the government for first mocking MNREGA and now giving it a pat on the back.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday allocated Rs 38,500 crore for schemes under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The Congress party hit out at the government for the its earlier criticism of the project. Congress leaders said that the government had spent two years mocking the UPA’s flagship programme, calling it a “monument of failures” .

Congress leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said, “They criticised MNREGA and Aadhaar. The UPA government gave Rs 40,000 crore to MNREGA. This (budget allocation) is not a big thing”.

Modiji spent the first 2 years mocking the Congress Party's focus on farmers, MNREGA, Rural dev & social spending (1/3)

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 29, 2016

Now mere rhetoric, without vision or action, will fool neither farmers nor the poor of this country (2/3)

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 29, 2016

Ultimately, Modi Ji understood the importance of #MNREGA, which he once called the ‘epitome of Congress' failure’ #UnionBudget2016

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) February 29, 2016

#Budget2016 Its a lie to say MNREGA allocation at all time high (38000 cr). Highest in 2010-11: 39377 cr, inflation adjusted 61445 cr.

— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) February 29, 2016

If you compare the wages that have increased, then it is important. It is not important how much total allocation has increased. If it was Rs 100 a day, then we gave Rs 40,000 crore. Today the wages have become Rs 150. This is natural that the man-days will be reduced. You are seeing only the money part, but not the physical part. 

Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Leader

Jaitley had made the announcement while presenting the 2016-17 annual budget in the Lok Sabha.

In the 2015-16 budget, the allocation for MGNREGA was Rs 34,699 crore.