MGNREGA Revamp Puts Water at the Centre of Rural Works
New Delhi: The government has made it mandatory to spend a fixed portion of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) funds on water conservation works in all rural blocks, with 65 per cent of the allocation now reserved for over-exploited and critical areas. The decision was announced today by Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan while launching the National Initiative on Water Security at Krishi Bhawan along with Union Jal Shakti Minister Chandrakant Raghunath Patil.
Chouhan said amendments had been made in the Schedule of the MGNREGA Act, 2005, to give precedence to water conservation and harvesting activities, making a minimum expenditure on such works mandatory. He said the step was taken on the directive of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had emphasised in a Council of Ministers meeting that a fixed portion of MGNREGA funds must be earmarked for water-related works.
Under the new framework, 65 per cent of MGNREGA funds will be used for water-related works in over-exploited and critical blocks, 40 per cent in semi-critical blocks, and at least 30 per cent even in blocks without water scarcity. Chouhan said that nationwide, MGNREGA resources will now be channelled with priority into water conservation to recharge groundwater, rejuvenate rivers and secure future water availability.
Describing water as central to life, he said: “Water is life. If there is water, there is a tomorrow and a today. Without water, nothing is possible.” He added that the National Water Security Initiative would benefit future generations, livestock, wildlife, the environment, and agriculture.
Chouhan underlined that groundwater levels are continuously depleting and water has become a major global challenge. He said the new approach seeks to move from reactive interventions to preventive and long-term management. He recalled that Modi has consistently given priority to water conservation, citing campaigns such as ‘Catch the Rain’, widespread rainwater harvesting efforts, and the construction of Amrit Sarovars as examples of this commitment.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Chandrakant Raghunath Patil called the initiative an important and historic decision by the Council of Ministers under the Prime Minister’s guidance. He said that from the ₹88,000 crore MGNREGA budget, 65 per cent will be directed to dark zone districts, 40 per cent to semi-critical districts, and 30 per cent to other districts for rainwater harvesting and related works. Patil said this decision would prove vital for water security and rural development and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for taking this significant step.
The launch event was attended by Union Minister of State for Rural Development Kamlesh Paswan, Rural Development Secretary Shailesh Singh, senior officials from the Ministries of Rural Development and Jal Shakti, and representatives from rural blocks and district magistrates who joined virtually.
The policy builds on more than a decade of rural development and water conservation efforts under MGNREGA since 2014. In this period, the government claims that over ₹8.4 lakh crore has been spent under the programme, generating more than 3,000 crore person-days of employment, with women’s participation increasing from 48 per cent in 2014 to 58 per cent in 2025. More than 1.25 crore water conservation assets such as farm ponds, check dams, and community tanks have been created, contributing to the reduction in water-stressed rural blocks.
Under Mission Amrit Sarovar, the government claims that more than 68,000 reservoirs have been constructed or rejuvenated in the first phase, adding to the water storage capacity in villages and improving local water availability.
– global bihari bureau
