About:

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme is the largest social security scheme in the world — guaranteeing 100 days of work to any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage.
• The MGNREG Act gives rural households the right to work — making it obligatory for the State to give them work on demand.
• The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Govt of India is monitoring the entire implementation of this scheme in association with state governments.

Key features:

• Legal right to work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the Act provides a legal right to employment for adult members of rural households.  At least one third beneficiaries have to be women. 
• Time bound guarantee of work and unemployment allowance: Employment must be provided with 15 days of being demanded failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
• Work site facilities: All work sites should have facilities such as crèches, drinking water and first aid.The employment will be provided within a radius of 5 km, if it is above 5 km extra wage will be paid.
• Transparency and accountability: Social audits are conducted by gram sabhas to enable the community to monitor the implementation of the scheme. The Gram Sabha is the principal forum for wage seekers to raise their voices and make demands. It is the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat which approves the shelf of works under MGNREGA and fix their priority.

Why in News?

One-third of the way through the financial year, government data shows that the MGNREGA scheme has used up almost half its allocated funds, spending more than ₹48,500 crore out of the expanded ₹1 lakh crore allocation announced following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Reference:

1. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/mgnrega-has-already-used-up-half-its-annual-funds/article32262438.ece