The union government on Saturday released Rs 12,230 crores to help the drought-hit states after the supreme court severely criticized its indifference. Union Minister for Rural Development Birender Singh said that the funds were released under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).
Singh said that the fund will take care of the previous financial year’s (2015-16) pending wage liability and also help the states run the programme during the new financial year (2016-17).
He added that large scale reforms were made in the MGNREGA programme. These reforms are meant to combat agrarian distress, meet the demand for work in drought affected areas, and create durable and income generating assets mostly linked to augmentation of irrigation potential.
The supreme court earlier last week had directed the centre to take up immediate drought relief works by releasing the funds needed. The apex court had heard Swaraj Abhiyan’s plea that listed Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana and Chhattisgarh as severely drought affected states.
