HYDERABAD: The Union government has identified numerous lapses in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Telangana.
Following these findings, Amit Kataria, joint secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development, issued an advisory to the principal secretary, Rural Development department of Telangana. The letter, titled “Analysis of generation of high person-days and high expenditure in Telangana,” outlined several issues for the state to address.
The advisory criticised the state for a “lack of strategic action” and “violation of the Act”. A major portion of the expenditure, 58.5%, was allocated to renovation and desilting works, specifically 94,241 such projects amounting to Rs 596.28 crore. The letter stated, “This indicates lack of strategic action taken by the state to address such types of issues. This indicates that the bottom-up approach as mandated by the Act has not been followed”, and called for a serious review at the state level due to the large expenditure on these works.
Improved prioritisation
The Union government noted that only 1.23 lakh individual works had been undertaken in 2024–25 (up to May 16, 2024), with an expenditure of Rs 182.79 crore, representing 17.9% of the total expenditure. The letter suggested the need for improved prioritisation of works and livelihood opportunities for vulnerable families in Telangana.
Highlighting that only 30.12% of the expenditure was on agriculture and allied activities in 2024–25 (up to May 20, 2024), the Centre advised the state to focus more on these areas and diversify the types of works undertaken.
The advisory also pointed out a violation of the MGNREGA Act regarding the material component, stating that the state government spent 42.83% of the total expenditure on materials in 2023–24, exceeding the 40% limit set by the Act.
Additionally, the Union government observed an 88% increase in person-days generated in April 2024 compared to April 2023. Excess person-days were generated in 32 out of 33 districts.
