Stark difference: MGNREGS demand in West Bengal plummets on paper, but villagers say desperate for work

Work demand dropped to 2.4 million in 2022-23 from 13.2 million 2020-21

Lack of MGNREGS work driving migration in rural West Bengal

Most men, teenage boys left their family behind to find work in other cities after Centre freezed funds to the rural employment scheme …

Central funds freeze: MGNREGA workers in West Bengal trapped in vicious cycle of illness and poverty

Workers struggling to make ends meet, have had to put new and existing health issues aside    

Threadbare clothes, school drop outs due to lack of uniforms: West Bengal MGNREGA workers’ lives in tatters

Central government’s freeze on funds for rural employment scheme has completely degraded villagers’ living conditions

Surviving on fish from gutter, rice: West Bengal workers bear brunt of Central freeze on MGNREGA funds

DTE ground report finds pending wages and non-commissioning of work for over a year making it hard for workers to survive

MGNREGA protest crosses 40 days, activists seek legal aid for workers

Multiple violations of the MGNREGA make it a textbook case of approaching the judiciary, Prashant Bhushan said

Amrit kaal for adivasis? Union Budget 2023-24 weakens safety nets for tribals

Schemes for food security, child welfare, employment guarantee for tribals saw shrinking of funds

How to make Budget discussions in Parliament more fruitful

Both ruling and opposition parties need to play constructive and responsible roles

MGNREGA: Workers call for scrapping of attendance scheme at Jantar Mantar protest 

The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha alleged that the claims of government about smooth functioning of the scheme were false and misleading  

A monumental waste: Crores spent on water-related works haven’t readied Jharkhand for droughts; here’s why

Poor planning of water conservation and water harvesting structures is a major reason

Budget 2023-24: Whither rural development? Allocation for livelihood and other schemes sees 14% cuts

Funds for central sector schemes and projects have been reduced to 113 crore from Rs 126 crore

Budget 2023-24: ‘Blood bath’ of MGNREGA as welfare scheme sees lowest allocation in last 2 years

Experts claim the reduced budget allocation to Rs 60,000 crore will not provide any employment to the economically vulnerable population

Ahead of Budget, activists demand allocation of Rs 2.72 lakh crore for MGNREGS in 2023-24

Considered inflation, pending worker wages and high demand, say NREGA Sangharsh Mocha and People’s Action for Employment Guarantee

MGNREGA graft: Social audit finds irregularities worth Rs 54 lakh in Rajasthan

Corruption was unearthed in 2022 after the workers from Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan in Barmer reported the issue to the Rajasthan government

Will India officially be poverty free in 2023?

National Statistical Office rolling out consumption expenditure sample survey; may note impact of central schemes adding to people’s income

Rural unemployment in central India: Why Adivasi communities are worst-hit

The focus of MGNREGA has to be re-shifted to employment generation from asset building

Culture of random, centralised monitoring is killing the spirit of MGNREGA

We do not need systems that alienate people from work and give further control to bureaucracy and frontline functionaries who are responsible for …

Remembering Anil Agarwal: India needs a Gobar Minister

Today is the death anniversary of Anil Agarwal, the founder of Centre for Science and Environment and Down To Earth. He wrote this editorial …

Mandatory digital attendance for MGNREGS will destroy it, activists warn

Lack of access to technology will discourage workers, drive them to work for cheaper wages outside of scheme

2022 too short, too far: How did the economy fare last year

Down To Earth recaps the primary environment, health and developmental news from 2022

Centre has withheld Rs 7,500 crore in MGNREGA funds to West Bengal for a year, claims report

MGNREGA workers in Bengal not paid wages of Rs 2744 crore for a year, report by Libtech India found  

Dying for ration: Denied full benefits, 62-year-old widow eats a meal a day to survive

Around 80 households out of 250 denied PDS welfare in Baramsar

Dying for ration: Biometric glitches in Rajasthan villages keep the poor hungry

Valid ration card holders turned away from PDS shops as fingerprints don't match in records

Formulate, implement national urban employment guarantee, workers tell Centre

The pandemic and subsequent national lockdown have exposed the long-existing vulnerabilities faced by India’s urban poor

MGNREGA: Less than a million people got 100 days of work in first 7 months of this financial year

Least number of people got 100 days of work under MGNREGA in 5 years