Centre Approves Revised MGNREGA Labour Budget of 4.45 Crore Persondays for Jammu Kashmir  | Kashmir Life

SRINAGAR: The Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India, has approved a revised Labour Budget of Rs 4.45 crore persondays for Jammu and Kashmir under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) for the financial year 2025–26.

The revised allocation, aligned with the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), comes in response to a proposal from the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Development Department seeking an upward revision to meet rising demand for wage employment, particularly in flood-affected, remote and vulnerable rural areas.

The approval was granted following a meeting of the Empowered Committee of the MoRD, chaired by Secretary Rural Development Shailesh Kumar Singh, held via virtual mode. The meeting was attended by Joint Secretary (MGNREGS) Rohini R Bhajibhakare, Secretary Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (RD and PR) Mohammad Aijaz Asad, and Additional Secretary RD and PR Waseem Raja.

Officials said the committee examined employment trends, post-flood recovery requirements and the need to ensure uninterrupted implementation of MGNREGA works across all districts of the Union Territory before approving the revised budget.

As part of the decision, the ministry has also sanctioned an additional 50 days of employment for 1,962 flood-affected Gram Panchayats under the permissible provisions of MGNREGA, aimed at providing immediate livelihood support to households impacted by recent floods.

Official data shows that Jammu and Kashmir generated an average of 381 lakh persondays annually over the last five financial years. Further analysis of employment generation patterns indicated a requirement of nearly 195 lakh persondays to meet demand in the remaining months of the current financial year, prompting the upward revision.

Accordingly, the agreed Labour Budget has been enhanced from 250 lakh to 445 lakh persondays, against a current achievement of 287 lakh persondays. The revised budget is intended to ensure continuity of wage payments and smooth execution of development works.

Labour budgets and shelves of projects for each Gram Panchayat were approved and uploaded on the NREGAsoft portal prior to the start of the financial year, in line with approved Gram Panchayat Development Plans (GPDPs).

Secretary RD and PR Mohammad Aijaz Asad said that 2.24 lakh works have been identified under the Annual Action Plan, including special projects approved from September onwards for the restoration of assets damaged during floods. He added that more than 60 per cent of the projects, in terms of cost, relate to agriculture and allied sectors.

He further said that 8,239 projects have been identified under the Union Territory Convergence Plan, involving coordination with 19 departments, to optimise resource utilisation and improve implementation efficiency.

Expressing gratitude to the Ministry of Rural Development, Aijaz Asad said the revised Labour Budget was crucial for ensuring adequate fund flow under the wage component and for the effective and transparent implementation of MGNREGA across Jammu and Kashmir.