NEW DELHI, 13 March (H.S.) : The Parliamentary Committee on Rural Development and

Panchayati Raj, led by Congress MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka, has presented its

report regarding the Demands for Grants for the fiscal year 2025-26. In its

findings, the committee has made several important recommendations, including a

proposed increase in funding for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G).

Additionally, the report includes various suggestions related to the implementation

of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation, and Resettlement Act of 2013 at the

state level.

The committee has suggested that the wage rates associated

with MNREGA be updated, proposing the use of an alternative standard rather

than the CPI-Agricultural Labour Index (CPI-AL) for calculating wage increases.

Furthermore, the committee advised the Ministry of Rural Development to explore

the possibility of establishing uniform wage rates throughout all States and

Union Territories. Additionally, the committee expressed concern regarding the

ongoing delays in the distribution of the Centre's financial contributions for

both wage and material components of MNREGA in various States and Union

Territories.

The committee has advised that West Bengal should receive

all its entitled payments for eligible years, with the exception of the year

currently under legal dispute. Furthermore, it is imperative that outstanding

payments be disbursed promptly to prevent any interruptions in ongoing rural

development initiatives and to ensure that the intended beneficiaries are not

adversely affected by financial limitations.

As reported by the Department of Rural Development, the

outstanding liabilities as of February 15, 2025, amount to ₹12,219.18 crore for

wages and ₹11,227.09 crore for material components. The cumulative total of

these pending liabilities is ₹23,446.27 crore, which constitutes 27.26% of the

current budget. This indicates that over one-fourth of the allocated funds will

be required to settle dues from previous years.

Consequently, the

operational budget for the present financial year has decreased to Rs 62,553.73

crore, which considerably hampers the scheme's capacity to operate efficiently

and achieve its main goal of alleviating rural distress and securing livelihoods.

A

total backlog of 14,654,267 houses remains under the Pradhan Mantri Awas

Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G). This figure comprises 6,254,267 houses identified in

the SECC-2011 list and approximately 8.4 million houses from the Awas Plus

list. The 2 crore houses approved in the extended phase have already addressed

the backlog of 1.46 crore houses, indicating that only 53.45 lakh new houses

have been allocated during this phase.

The Committee emphatically advised that the overall target

for housing units under the extended phase of PMAY-G be raised to a minimum of

3.46 crore. This adjustment aims to address the existing backlog of 1.46 crore

houses, along with an additional allocation of 2 crore houses to facilitate new

distributions beyond the current backlog.

In light of the increasing construction costs and

inflationary pressures, the Committee has proposed raising the per unit cost of

houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G) to Rs. 4 lakhs.

This adjustment aims to guarantee that beneficiaries obtain quality housing

that adheres to essential safety and sustainability standards.

The Committee emphatically urged the Rural Development

Department to reassess the MNREGA scheme with the aim of raising the number of

guaranteed working days from 100 to 150. Additionally, the Committee strongly

advocated for the States to implement the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and

Resettlement (LARR) Act of 2013 in its intended spirit, ensuring just and

equitable compensation for affected landowners and communities. It is

imperative that all State Governments adhere to the provisions outlined in the

Act.

Hindusthan Samachar / Meenakshi Bhattacharya