MNREGA is the largest employment generating scheme in the country. This scheme is demand based and provides employment to 5.5 to 6 crore people of the country. This was stated by the Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the 20th Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) meeting that was held in Bhopal today. Shri Tomar said that the scheme is become more encompassing and 260 types of works have now been covered under it. The Union Minister asserted that most of the banking issues that act as a hindrance for MNREGA wage payment will be removed through the recently launched India Post Payments Bank.Union Rural Development Minister further said that success of MNREGA was the result of hard work of the Central Government as well as the State Governments and the District Administration and its affiliates. Shri Tomar said that for the overall and balanced development of the villages, there is a need for advance planning by the village panchayats.
He also emphasized on a better system of training to increase the quality and capacity of the Gram Panchayat Employment Assistant. Addressing the meeting, Minister of State for Rural Development Shri Ram Kripal Yadav said that MNREGA is a very important scheme and it has played a major role in elevating the standard of living of the people of rural India. He said that in the current financial year, the budget of MNREGA has increased to 55,000 crore rupees.During the meeting, it was suggested that insurance may be provided to the laborers working under MNREGA and such schemes should be linked to the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana. The action taken on the suggestions received in the previous meeting and the steps taken for redressal of grievances were also discussed. The achievements of MNREGA were also highlighted through a PowerPoint presentation.Senior officials of the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj participated in the meeting along with members from different states and senior officials of the State Government.