New Delhi, April 19 (). Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that to ensure smooth implementation of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, an amount of Rs 17,744.19 crore is being released to the states and union territories as the first installment of the wage component for the financial year 2026-27.
He urged the states to ensure timely and effective utilization of these funds, so that wages are paid without any delay. The Union Minister said that necessary funds, materials and administrative components are also being made available. The work under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA should continue at the grassroots level without any interruption and continuously.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan also emphasized that providing timely work to the workers and ensuring immediate payment of wages is our biggest priority. States were advised to ensure adequate availability of work at the Gram Panchayat level, so that no laborer has to wait for employment.
The Union Minister said that every laborer seeking employment should be given work within the stipulated time frame, and payment of wages at all levels should be ensured without any delay. He stressed the need for effective management of work sites and urged states to give priority to issuing job cards to those eligible rural households who have not yet been covered.
The Union Minister said that employment should be provided to the interested families within a stipulated time frame, to ensure that no eligible family is deprived of livelihood opportunities. He said that the present time is a period of important change, in which it is necessary to maintain employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, and at the same time all necessary preparations have to be completed for effective implementation of VB-G Ram Ji Act.
Regarding the VB-Ji Ram Ji Act, the Union Minister said that it aims to establish a visionary and empowerment-based rural development framework by providing a legal guarantee of 125 days of wage employment to rural households. He urged the States to complete all the preparatory work within the stipulated time frame to enable effective implementation of the programme.
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