Jaipur: Rajasthan govt has ordered block-level verification of nearly Rs 3,000 crore in pending material component payments under MGNREGA for 2024 and 2025, which are yet to be released by the Centre. The rural development department has directed officials to verify the outstanding amounts and submit reports, which will be consolidated by the state govt and forwarded to the Centre to seek release of the funds.An official of the rural development department said the block-level verification has already started. “Once we receive reports from all the districts, we will send them to the Centre. The pending material component payments for 2024 and 2025 are being verified at the blocks,” the official said.The verification comes amid concerns over the impact of the delayed payments on development works in gram panchayats. In a representation to chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Sarpanch Sangh Rajasthan and outgoing panchayat administrators said around Rs 3,200 crore due under the material component of MGNREGA had remained unpaid for nearly 30 months.The association said the delay had affected development work in most gram panchayats, while material suppliers had disrupted supplies and were holding public representatives responsible for the pending payments. It urged the chief minister to ensure early release of the funds to help resume development work and ease the financial difficulties faced by gram panchayats.Even though the Centre introduced the Viksit Bharat–Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Grameen), or VB-G RAM-G, replacing MGNREGS in July, material component payments under the earlier scheme remain pending in Rajasthan for two years.Meanwhile, the state govt has written to the Centre seeking an increase in the annual employment guarantee under VB-G RAM-G from 125 to 150 days in drought-affected districts, a rural development department official said.The request comes after the state govt on Sunday declared 80 tehsils across 14 districts drought-affected for the 2026 kharif season, citing deficient rainfall and adverse crop conditions.
