New Delhi: A rising demand for jobs has resulted in more money being spent by Odisha and four other states this year under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
Odisha apart, the others to have spent more than in the pre-pandemic year are Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Odisha has spent Rs 5,375 crore this year compared to Rs 2,836 crore in 2019-20, Hindustan Times reported.
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Bihar, which saw the most number of migrant workers returning during the COVID-induced lockdown in 2020, spent Rs 5,771 crore compared to Rs 3,371 crore the previous year.
The comparative figures for Madhya Pradesh are Rs 7,354 crore and Rs 4,949 crore; Rs 10,118 crore and Rs 7,480 crore in West Bengal; Rs 8,961 crore and Rs 5,621 crore in Tamil Nadu.
A total of Rs 73,000 crore was allocated this year to MGNREGS, a guaranteed employment scheme wherein at least 100 days’ work is annually provided to every rural household. But a supplementary budget had to be provided for the scheme and Rs 94,994 crore has been spent.
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