MGNREGS Coverage and Workdays Decline Sharply in 2025-26

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) saw a significant decline in its scale and reach in 2025-26, according to a report by LibTech India. The number of registered households rose marginally, but fewer households and workers found employment, total workdays declined significantly, and fewer families completed the guaranteed 100 days of work.

The report notes that 44 lakh fewer households and 67 lakh fewer workers were employed compared to the previous year, representing declines of 8.2% and 9.1% respectively. The number of persondays of work generated under the programme fell sharply by 21.5%, from 268.44 crore in 2024-25 to 210.73 crore in 2025-26.

The contraction was geographically widespread, with 15 out of 20 States recording a fall in persondays during the year. Tamil Nadu recorded the steepest decline at 42.8%, followed by Haryana at 41.7%, Himachal Pradesh at 41%, and Telangana at 40.2%.

The Viksit Bharat - Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act 2025, which was passed in Parliament last December, is expected to come into force soon, replacing MGNREGS. The Union government has allocated only ₹30,000 crore for MGNREGS for the transitional period. The NREGA Sangarsh Morcha has urged the government to ensure that during the transition period, employment opportunities will continue to be provided unhindered. The court will resume hearing on the implementation of the new scheme soon.