Budget allocation for Rural Development Ministry up by 12%

New Delhi: The rural development ministry has been allocated Rs 1,77,566.19 crore in the 2024-25 Union Budget, an around 12 per cent increase from the Rs 1,57,545 crore outlay for the last financial year.

The Budget was presented in Parliament on Tuesday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

However, compared to the revised estimates, a mid-year review of the expenditure done by the ministry which stood at 1,71,069.46 crore, the increase is around 3.7 per cent.

Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan hailed the Budget, saying it will help in further development of the rural sector.

The allocation for the flagship 100-day guaranteed wage rural employment programme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Development Scheme (MGNREGS), is Rs 86,000 crore, an around 43 per cent increase in allocation from the Rs 60,000 crore made in the last Budget.

However, the revised estimates show the total expenditure on the scheme in the last financial year was Rs 86,000 crore, the same as the allocation made for this financial year.

In 2022-23, the government had allocated Rs 73,000 crore for the MGNREGS in the Budget, while the actual expenditure, according to the Budget document, was Rs 90,805 crore.

The scheme provides guaranteed employment in a financial year to at least one member of every household whose adult member volunteers to do unskilled manual work. It also earmarks at least one-third of jobs for women.

The allocation for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin (PMAY-G), under which the government aims to build two crore more rural houses, is Rs. 54,500.14.

For 2023-24, Rs 54,487 crore was provided for the PMAY-G. The revised estimates stand at Rs 32,000 crore, around 41 per cent of the allocated amount.

“It has been decided in the Budget to build more houses for the poor, and two crore houses will be built for the poor in rural areas,” Chouhan said.

Sitharaman announced the launch of the fourth phase of the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations.

“Phase-four of the PMGSY will be launched to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations,

which have become eligible in view of their population increase,” she said.

The allocation for the flagship scheme in the Budget is Rs 12,000 crore, while in 2023-24, Rs 19,000 crore was allocated for it and the revised estimates were Rs 17,000 crore.

The allocation for the National Livelihood Mission-Ajeevika was Rs 15,047 crore, around six per cent more than last year’s allocation of Rs 14,129.17 crore.

Revised estimates for the scheme also stands at Rs. 14,129.17 crore.