The News 

The Union government has amended Schedule I of the rural jobs law to push more money into water security. In rural blocks where groundwater is over-exploited or critical, at least 65% of MGNREGA spending (by cost) must now be used for water conservation, water harvesting and other water-related works. 

In semi-critical blocks the floor is 40%, and in safe blocks it is 30%. The Rural Development Ministry says this will channel a large part of the annual MGNREGA budget (about ₹35,000 crore this year by their estimate) towards arresting groundwater decline and improving local water security in villages.

MGNREGA : What the law promises and how it works

• Purpose: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 gives every rural household the right to 100 days of unskilled manual work in a year on public works, on demand.
  
• Demand-driven: Any adult can apply; if work is not given within 15 days, the person is entitled to an unemployment allowance.
  
• Where and what work: Work should be close to the village. Schedule I lists allowed works. A big share are natural resource management and water-related assets: farm ponds, check dams, percolation tanks, field bunding, contour trenches, renovation of traditional water bodies, drainage, watershed treatment, afforestation and soil-moisture measures.
  
• Who decides: The Gram Sabha approves the annual labour budget and shelf of projects. Technical sanction and supervision are by the panchayat and block teams.
  
• Money rules: A 60:40 labour-to-material ratio is maintained at the Gram Panchayat or block level (labour includes wages; material covers cement, stone, pipes, tools, etc.).
  
• Payments and transparency: Wages go into bank or post-office accounts, with geo-tagging of assets, social audits, and open MGNREGA-soft and GeoMGNREGA dashboards for public viewing.
  
• Inclusion: Equal wages for men and women; crèche support can be provided on-site; worksite facilities like shade, drinking water and first aid are mandatory.
  

Progress and Achievements 

1. Crores of water assets built or revived
   
   • Over the years, a majority of works have been in natural resource management, especially water. Villages have created or revived farm ponds, check dams, contour trenches, field bunds, renovated tanks, and rainwater harvesting structures.
     
   • In many dry blocks, these have increased soil moisture, slowed runoff, and helped recharge shallow aquifers.
     
2. Support to farming and livestock
   
   • Better moisture and small irrigation sources stabilise yields, allow an extra crop in some places, and reduce distress sale of livestock.
     
3. Local drought and flood buffering
   
   • Watershed and drainage works reduce flash floods on slopes and siltation in tanks, and improve drainage in water-logged paddy belts.
     
4. Employment with climate benefits
   
   • During lean seasons and crises (for example, drought years or the pandemic), MGNREGA offered local wages while building assets that strengthen climate resilience.
     
5. Women’s participation
   
   • Women regularly form half or more of total workers. Water works near the village make it easier for women to participate and earn, and reduce the daily burden of fetching water when sources improve.
     
6. Community knowledge revived
   
   • Many projects restore traditional tanks, johads, ahars-pynes, khadins, and kunds, bringing back local water wisdom.
     

Although Impact varies by State and by the quality of planning. Where gram sabhas did proper watershed plans and maintenance, the gains have been clear and lasting.

The Problems and Gaps

• Wage delays and fund crunch: Late fund release and pending liabilities discourage workers and panchayats; work slows or stops mid-season.
  
• Low wages in some States: MGNREGA wage rates are below local market wages in many districts, so workers prefer private farm or construction work when available.
  
• Attendance and payment frictions: New digital attendance tools and bank-linked payments sometimes fail in poor connectivity, causing rework and hardship.
  
• Asset quality and maintenance: Without technical support and maintenance money, some structures silt up or break after one monsoon.
  
• Copy-paste works, weak planning: Instead of watershed maps and contour plans, many places build scattered assets that do not add up to a functioning system.
  
• Material supply bottlenecks: The 60:40 rule is sound, but material approvals can get stuck; contractors or suppliers then delay works or cut corners.
  
• Social audits not regular: In a few States social audits are strong; in others they are infrequent or not acted upon.
  
• Skilled staff shortage: Barefoot engineers, mates and watershed animators are too few, and panchayats rotate officials frequently.
  

The recent policy shift and what it could change

What changed: The new order reserves a minimum share of spending for water works based on groundwater stress: 65% in over-exploited/critical, 40% in semi-critical, 30% in safe blocks. “Over-exploited” means more water is drawn than recharged; “critical” means extraction is at 90–100% of annual recharge; “semi-critical” is 70–90%; “safe” is ≤70%.

Why it matters:

• It locks in priority for the most urgent need in rural India—water—and aligns MGNREGA with village water security.
  
• It nudges districts to prepare good water plans, because funds will flow if ready-to-execute projects exist.
  
• It can converge with Jal Jeevan Mission (household tap water), Atal Bhujal Yojana (community groundwater management) and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (irrigation).
  

Risks to watch:

• If districts chase easy, small ponds to meet percentage targets, impact will be low.
  
• Without maintenance plans, new assets can decay.
  
• If wage and fund delays continue, the water push will under-deliver.
  

The way ahead — make every drop count, and every rupee work

1. Plan by watershed, not by village list
   
   • Start with ridge-to-valley mapping: treat the upper slopes first (trenches, bunds, afforestation), then storage (ponds, tanks), then outlets and drains. Make one shelf of works per micro-watershed for 3–5 years, approved by the gram sabha.
     
2. Measure outcomes, not just numbers
   
   • Track pre- and post-monsoon water table, irrigated area, number of drinking water days, and crop changes. Put these on a public dashboard with photos and maps.
     
3. Strengthen people and teams
   
   • Train barefoot hydrologists, mates and women’s self-help groups to read contour maps, mark lines on the ground, and maintain assets.
     
   • Keep a block-level water engineer cell that clears designs quickly and checks quality on site.
     
4. Fix payments and materials
   
   • Clear wage arrears within 7–10 days; auto-trigger compensation for delay.
     
   • Pre-approve standard designs and item rates for typical water structures; create framework contracts for stone, sand, liners and pipes so material is timely and corruption risk is low.
     
5. Budget for upkeep
   
   • Earmark maintenance days each year (desilting, repairing bunds, clearing inlets). Without this, assets fill up and fail.
     
6. Join hands with other schemes
   
   • Use MGNREGA labour for source strengthening while Jal Jeevan Mission builds taps and pipes.
     
   • In Atal Bhujal Yojana blocks, gram sabhas can fix groundwater extraction rules (for example, crop planning, spacing of borewells).
     
   • In drought-prone areas, pair water works with fodder banks and pasture improvement to protect livestock.
     
7. Design for women’s time-saving
   
   • Prioritise drinking water sources within a short walk, soak pits, kitchen gardens, and crèches at worksites. Less time fetching water means more time for learning and income.
     
8. Protect ecology
   
   • Avoid blocking wildlife corridors; choose native species for plantation; design tanks and wetlands to boost biodiversity and groundwater recharge, not just storage.
     

Exam hook 

Key take-aways

• New rules reserve 65/40/30 percent of spending for water works based on groundwater stress.
  
• MGNREGA already creates large numbers of water assets; results are strongest where projects follow watershed logic and are maintained.
  
• Main brakes: wage delays, low wages in some States, weak planning, material bottlenecks, and poor maintenance.
  
• The fix: ridge-to-valley planning, timely payments, outcome metrics, skilled local teams, upkeep funds, and convergence with other water schemes.
  
• Done right, MGNREGA becomes India’s largest climate-resilience program—putting wages in hands now and secure water underfoot for years.
  

UPSC Mains question 

“MGNREGA is India’s biggest water mission in disguise.”
Critically examine this statement in the light of the recent decision to earmark a minimum share of MGNREGA spending for water works. Discuss achievements and shortcomings of MGNREGA’s water assets, and propose a district-level plan that makes the programme outcome-driven through watershed planning, timely payments, maintenance budgets and convergence with tap-water and groundwater schemes. (250 words)

One-line wrap

Use MGNREGA to put wages in pockets today and water in the ground for tomorrow—planned by watersheds, paid on time, and maintained every year.

(Indian Express)