States have a pending MGNREGA liability of Rs 30,000 crore: Sita Ramam

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday dismissed the concerns of opposition members regarding the payment of pending MGNREGA bills, saying that a provision of Rs 30,000 crore has been made in the second batch of supplementary demands for grants for this year, which will settle the pending dues till March 31.
Ms. Sitharaman, while responding to a discussion on the second batch of supplementary demands for grants for the current financial year 2025-26 and the related appropriation bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday, said that some members have expressed concern over MGNREGA payments, so it is necessary to tell them that the 'Jai Ram Ji' law will start from April. The government has made arrangements in this list for the payment of pending MGNREGA cases.
In response to the concerns of opposition members regarding the pending bills of states after the 'Viksit Bharat-Jai Ram Ji' bill, she said, "When we brought the VB-Jai Ram Ji bill, a commitment of Rs 95,000 crore was made at that time. This is included in the budget. After the Finance Bill is passed, the commitment of Rs 95,000 crore under it will come into effect from April 1."
She said, "But apart from this, many states have old pending bills. They are raising the same issue and asking what will happen to their old bills after the new commitment comes into effect?"
The Finance Minister said, "For these old pending bills, an arrangement of Rs 30,000 crore has been made in this list of supplementary demands for grants. This will settle the pending MGNREGA dues till March 31."
Ms. Sitharaman strongly criticized the opposition, saying, "The opposition does not care about it at all. But when they stand here again, they ask, 'What have you given for MGNREGA? This government has cut the funds for MGNREGA.' When I am answering, when I am telling about the commitments made in the budget, they do not listen and shamelessly try to drown my voice by standing here. I strongly condemn their attitude."
The Finance Minister said that for the current financial year, "The total amount of the first and second supplementary demands for grants combined is Rs 4.13 lakh crore. However, out of this, Rs 1.71 lakh crore is technically supplementary. This type of grant demand is for using the savings in one part of a grant in another part of the same grant or for meeting it through additional revenue and receipts."
She said, "In fact, the revised estimates (RE) of expenditure for the financial year 2025-26 are less than the budget estimates (BE) and even after this second supplementary demand, no additional expenditure has been incurred beyond the budget estimates for 2025-26."
The Finance Minister, while responding to a question raised by Ram Shankar Verman of the Samajwadi Party during the discussion, said that during the SP regime in Uttar Pradesh, sugarcane farmers used to wait for payment. Now it is not so, and 9.30 crore farmers get money directly through direct benefit transfer. During the Samajwadi Party's time, farmers used to commit suicide. Through the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana, assistance of Rs 12 lakh crore, including wheat and grains, has reached the poor.
She said, "Let the Samajwadi Party think. With the increase in GDP, our capacity increases, and with that capacity, we provide assistance to farmers."
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi is releasing another installment of 'PM Kisan' this evening. If this amount of PM Kisan is also included, a total of Rs 4.27 lakh crore has been provided to farmers.
She said, "Our government has changed both the situation and the picture. These supplementary demands provide more subsidy on fertilizers for farmers. The economic stability fund has been increased to deal with the global crisis."
Ms. Sitharaman, while expecting cooperation from the opposition amidst the current challenges, said, "For all these challenges, we want to get good advice in Parliament. But here, the member of the Samajwadi Party is reciting poetry. You keep writing poetry, we are writing history. We are changing the picture."