Delays in salaries are a major contributor to the gap between MGNREGS coverage and delivery, according to a report.

• The MGNREGS has seen an 8.6% increase in registered households, but the delivery of promised employment has decreased by 7.1%.

• Only 7% of households have received 100 days of work, indicating a mismatch between the scheme’s coverage and its delivery.

• Regional variations persist, with Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Rajasthan experiencing the sharpest decline in person days.

• The Union government has allocated only ₹86,000 crore for FY 2024-25, a reduction from the People’s Action for Employment Guarantee (PAEG) recommendation of ₹2.64 lakh crore for FY 2022-23.

• The rate of deletions of MGNREGS workers has been partially arrested, with 7.8 crore workers deleted between 2022 and 2024.

• The Ministry maintains that both deletions and additions are part of a regular process, but the rate of deletions far exceeds the rate of additions.