The

Mahatma Gandhi
National Rural
Employment Guarantee
Act, 2005
(42 of 2005)
with
Schedules
as amended in 2017
and
• The National Rural Employment Guarantee (Central
Council) Rules, 2006
• The National Employment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2006
• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011
• Notification regarding the wage rates payable to the
Unskilled Workers in different States and Union TerritoriP~
 THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT, 2005
INTRODUCTION
For rural development major focus of planning had been productive
absorption of m\der-employed and surplus labour force of the rural sector. In
order to provide direct supplementary wage-employment to the rural poor
through public works, many programmes were initiated by the Government of
India, namely, National Rural Employment Programme, Rural Landless
Employment Guarantee Programme and Jawahar . Rozgar Yojna. Currently,
Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojna is being implemented all over the country.
Though this Yojna is providing some relief to the rural poor, its reach has been
inadequate in view of the dimension of the tmemployment in rural areas.
Therefore, an urgent need was felt to ensure at least some minimum days of
employment in the shape of manual labour to every household in the rural areas.
Accordingly the Government resolved to enact a suitable A~t which will provide
legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment every year at minimum
wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural poor household. To
achieve this objective the National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill was
introduced in the Parliament.
STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS
Productive absorption of under-employed and surplus labour force in the
rural sector has been a major focus of planning for rural development. In order
to provide direct supplementary wage-employment to the rural poor through
public works, many programmes were initiated by the Government of India,
namely, National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural Landless
Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) and Jawahar Rozgar Yojana ORY).
Currently, Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) is being implemented all
over the country with the objective to provide supplementary wage employment
in rural areas, create durable rural infrastructure and to ensure food security.
Though the SGRY is providing some relief to the rural poor, its reach has been
inadequate in view of the dimension of the unemployment in rural areas. It has
been observed that the scale of employment generation under SGRY in 2002-03
and 2003-04 was barely adequate to provide on an average 20 days of
employment to each Below Poverty Line (BPL) household in the rural areas.
Secondly, there is no guarantee that employment will be available to the rural
households on demand as SGRY is an allocation-based programme. The
situation of unemployment has been compounded by the absence of any social
security mechanism. There is, therefore, an urgent need to ensure at least some
minimum days of employment in the shape of manual labour to every
household in the rural areas. Recogrlizing the urgent need to ensure a certain
minimum days of wage-employment, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
Government has declared in its National Common Minimum Programme
(NCMP). that it " .....will immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee
Act. This will provide a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of employment, to

1
2 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005

begin with, on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum

wages for at least one able-bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower
middle class household." It is also necessary to empower the poor in the rural
areas by appropriate enactment so that they can demand work on the strength
of this legal entitlement.
2. The proposed legislation constitutes a pioneering endeavour to secure
wage employment for the poor households in the rural areas as a guaranteed
entitlement on this scale. It takes into account the experience gained under the
Employment Guarantee Scheme in Maharashtra. Considering that a programme
of this kind is being contemplated on such a massive scale for the first time, it
has to be necessarily implemented in phases. so as to eventually cover all the
rural areas of the country, subject to the economic capacity of the Central and
State Governments.
3. In view of the above, it is proposed to enact a new legislation through the
National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill, 2004. The salient features of the
proposed legislation are the following:-
(i) ,The objective of the legislation is to enhance the livelihood security of
the poor households in rural areas of the country by providing at
least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment to every
poor household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled
manual work.
(ii) The State Government shall, in such rural areas in the State and for
such period as may be notified by the Central Government, provide
to every poor household guaranteed wage employment in unskilled
manual work at least for a period of one hundred days in a financial
year in accordance with the provisions made in the legislation.
(iii) Every State Government shall, within six months from the date of
commencement of this legislation, prepare a scheme to give effect to
the guarantee proposed under the legislation.
(iv) The one hundred days of employment under the legislation will be
provided at the wage r~te to be specified by the Central Government
for the purpose of this legislation. Until such time a wage rate is
specified by the Central Government for an area, the minimum
wage rate fixed by the State Government under the Minimum Wages
Act, 1948 for agi:icultural labourers shall be considered as the vyage
rate applicable to that area.
(v) If an eligible applicant is not provided work as per the provisions of
this legislation within the prescribed time limit, it will be obligatory
on the part of the State Government to pay unemployment allowance
at the prescribed rate.
(vi) A Central Employment Guarantee Council at the Central level and
State Employment Guarantee Councils at the State level in all States
where the legislation is made applicable will be constituted for
review, monitoring and effective implementation of the legislation in
their respective areas.
 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 3
(vii) The Standing Committee of the District Panchayat, District
Programme Coordinator, Programme Officers and Gram Panchayats
have been assigned specific responsibilities in implementation of
various provisions of the legislation at the Gram Panchaya·t, Block
and District levels.
(viii) The Central Government shall establish a fund to be called 'National
Employment Guarantee Fund' for the purposes of this legislation.
Similarly, the State Governments may constitute State Employment
Guarantee Funds.
(ix) Provisions for transparency and accountability, audit, establishment
of grievance and redressal mechanisms and penalty of non-
compliance are also envisaged.
(x) Provisions for Minimum features of Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme and conditions for guaranteed Rural Employment under a
scheme and minimum entitlements of labourers have been laid.
4. The Notes on clauses explain in detail the various provisions contained in
the Bill.
5. The Bill seeks to achieve the above objects.
ACT 42 OF 2005
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Bill having been passed by both
the Houses of Parliament received the assent of the President on 5th September,
2005. It came on the Statute Book as The National Rural Employment Guarantee
Act, 2005 (42 of 2005). By section 2 of the National Rural Employment Guarantee
(Amendment) Act, 2009 (46 of 2009) nomenclature of the Act has been
substituted with retrospective effect from 2nd October, 2009. Now it stands as
THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GURANTEE
ACT, 2009 (42 of 2009) (Came into force on 1-4-2007 in different areas in the different
states).
AMENDING ACT
1. The. National Rural Employment Guarantee (Extension to Jammu and
Kashmir) Act, 2007 (23 of 2007).
2. The National Rural Employment Guarantee (Amendment) Act, 2009
(46 of 2009) (w.r.e.f. 2-10-2009).
 THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT, 2005
(42 of 2005)
[5th September, 2005]
An Act to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in
rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage
employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual work and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:-
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement.- (1) This Act may be called 1[the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act], 2005.
(2) It extends to the whole of India 2 [***].
(3) It shall come into force on such date3 as the Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be
appointed for different States or for different areas in a State and any reference
in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a
reference to the coming into force of that provision in such State or, as the case
may be, in such area:
Provided that this Act shall be applicable to the whole of the territory to
which it extends within a p eriod of five years from the date of enactment of this
Act.

l. Subs. by Act 46 of 2009, sec. 2, for "the National Rural Employment Guaran tee -!\ct" (w.r.e.f.
2-10-2009).
2. The words "except the State of Jammu and Kashmir" omitted by Act 23 of 2007, sec. 2(2).
3. Came into force on 1-4-2007, vide S.0. 453(E), dated 26th March, 2007, in different areas in the
States as specified in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
State Areas in the State (Districts) State Areas in the State (Districts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)

Andhra Pradesh Nellore Bihar Sheikhpura

East Godavari Siwan
Srikakulam Khagaria
Kurnool Madhepura
Prakasam Saharsa
Guntur Sitamarhi
Arunachal Pradesh Changlang West Champaran
Lohit Banka
Bhagalpur
Assam Marigaon
East Champaran
Dar rang
Begusarai
Nalbari
Gopalganj
Barpeta Buxa r
Hailakandi Saran
Cacha r Arwal
4 Contd. 011 next page
Sec. 1) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 5
COMMENTS
This section gives the short title of the Act and the area to which it extends. Sub-
section (3) p rovides that the proposed legislation shall come into force on such date as the

Contd. from previous page

(1) (2) (1) (2)

Chhattisgarh Korba Mizoram Champhai

Janjigir-Champa Ltmglei
Mahasamtmd Nagaland Kohima
Raipur Mokokchung
Gujarat Valsad Tuensang
Bharuch Wokha
Navsari Orissa Bargarh
Haryana Ambala Anugul
Mewat Balasore
Himachal Prad£sh Kangra
Bhadrak
Mandi
Jharkhand Singhbhum Eas t Jaipur
Deoghar Punjab Nawanshahr
Karnataka Bellary Jalandhar
Hassan Amritsar
Chikmagalur Rajas than Tonk
Belgaum Swai Madhopur
Shimoga Chittorgarh
Kodagu Barmer
Kera la Jdukki Jalor
Kasargod Jaisalmer
Madh ya Pradesh Chhindwara Sikkim East Sikkim
Harda South Sikkim
Parma Tripura South Tripura
Katni West Tripura
Dewas Tamil Nadu Thanjavur
Guna Thiruvarur
Rew a
Triunelveli
Datia
Kantr
Damoh
Rajga rh Udham Singh Nagar
Anuppur Uttarakhand Ha rid war
Ashok !'!agar Wes t Bengal Cooch Behar
Burahanpur Nadia
Manipur Chandel Barddhaman
Churachandpur Medinapur (East)
Meghalaya East Khasi Hills North 24 Parganas
Jain tia Hills Hooghly
Ri Bhoi Darjeeling

Came into force on 15-5-2007, vide S.O. 764(E), dated 15th May, 2007, in d ifferent areas in Uttar
Pradesh as specified in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
State Areas in the State (Districts) State Areas in the State (Districts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)
Uttar Pradesh Jhansi Siddharthnagar
Kanpur Dehat Bahraich
Mau Balrampur
Sultanpur Shrawasti
Ambedkar Nagar Gonda
Basti Ba Ilia
Sant Kabir Nagar Budaun
Ma harajganj Etah
Farrukhabad

Contd. on 11ext page

6 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 1
Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different
dates may be appointed for different States or for different areas in a State and any
reference in any such provision to the commencement of the proposed legislation shall be
construed as a reference to the comfog into force of that provision in such State or, as the
case may be, in such area. [Notes 011 Cln11ses}

Contd. from previous page

Came into force on 6-6-2007, vide S.O. 943(E), dated 4th June, 2007, in different areas in the
State of Jammu and Kashmir as specified in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
State Areas in the State (Districts) State Areas in the State (Districts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)

Jammu & Kashmir Doda Poonch

Kupwara Anantnag
Jammu

Came into force on 1-4-2008, vide S.O. 1684(E), dated 28th September, 2007, in different areas
in the States and the Union territories as specified in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
States Areas in the States (Districts) States Areas in the States !Ois tricts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)

Andlua Pradesh 1. West Godavari 8. Kachchh

2. Krislrna 9. Gandhinagar
3. Visakhapatnam 10. Bhavnagar
Arunachal Pradesh 1. Upper Siang 11. Jamnagar
2. West Ka meng 12. Vadodara
3. Lower Subansiri 13. Porba ndar
4. Tirap 14. Rajkot \
5. Diba ng Valley (Upper) 15. Surat
6. West Siang 16. Ahmedabad.
7. Tawang Haryana 1. Fatehabad \
8. East Siang 2. Rewari
9. East Kameng 3. Bhiwani
10. Papum Pare 4. Kaith al
11. Lower Dibang Valley 5. Jind
12. Kurung-KLLmey 6. Jhajjar
Assam 1. Karimganj 7. G urgaon
2. Golaghat 8. Sonepat
3. Sibsagar 9. Hisar
4. Sonitpur 10. Kurukshetra
5. Dhubri 11. Kamal
6. Nagaon 12. Rohtak
7. Jorha t 13. Yamunanagar '
8. Dibrugarh 14. Panipat
9. Tinsukia 15. Panchkula
10. Kamrup 16. Faridabad
11 . Kamrup (Metro) Himachal Pradesh 1. Kilrnaur
12. Bask a 2. Lahaul & Spiti
13. Udalguri 3. Bilaspur
14. Chi rang 4. Hamirpur
Chhattisgarh 1. Durg 5. Kullu
Gujarat 1. Kheda 6. Una
2. Pa tan 7. Solan
3. Mahcsana 8. Sh imla
4. Am reIi Janum1 & Kashmir 1. Rajauri
5. Surendranagar 2. Kargil
6. Anand 3. Pulwama
7. Junagadh 4. Badgam

Contd. 011 11ext page

Sec. 2] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 7

2. Definitions.- In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth year of
age;

Contd. from previous page

(1) (2) (1) (2)
5. Kathua 9. Jalgaon
6. Udh am p ur 10. Kolhapu r
7. Baramula 11. Parbhani
8. Leh Ladakh 12. Solapur
9. Srinagar 13. Nashik
Karnataka 1. Cha ma rajanagar 14. Pune
2. Mand ya 15. Nagpu r
3. Koppa! Manipur 1. Senapati (Excluding 3
4. Udupi Sub-Divisions)
5. Tumkur 2. Ukhrul
6. Haveri 3. Imphal East
7. Bangalore Rural 4. Bishnu pur
8. Bijapur ·5 . Thoubal
9. Ko lar 6. Imph al West
10. Uttara Kannad a Meghalaya 1. West Khasi Hills
11. Bagalkot 2. East Garo Hills
12. Gadag Mizoram 1. Mamit
13. Mysore 2. Serchhip
14. Dakshina Kannada 3. Kolasib
15. Dharwad 4. Aizawl
16. Bangalore Nagalan d 1. Phck
Kera la 1. Malappuram 2. Ztmh eboto
2. Pathanamthitta 3. Dimapur
3. Kottayam 4. Kiphirc
4. Kollam 5. Longleg
5. Thrissur 6. Paren
6. Alappuzha Orissa 1. Nayagarh
7. Thiruvananthapuram 2. Kendra para
8. Kozhikode 3. Jagatsingha p ur
9. Ernakulam 4. Puri
10. ·Kann ur 5. Cuttack
Madhya Pradesh 1. Narsimhapur 6. Khordha
2. Sehore Punjab 1. Moga
3. Raisen 2. Mansa
4. Shajapur 3. Gurdaspu r
5. Mandsaur 4. Mu ktsar
6. Vidisha 5. Firozpu r
7. Morena 6. Fatehgarh Sahib
8. Bh ind 7. Sangrur
9. Neemuch 8. Bathinda
10. Sagar 9. Roopnagar
11. Ratlam 10. Kapurthala
12. Hoshangabad 11. ·Patiala
13. Ujjain 12. Faridkot
14. Jabalp u r 13. Ludhiana
15. Gwalior Rajasthan 1. Dausa
16. Indore 2. Rajsamand
17. Bhopal 3. Alwar
Maharashtra 1. Sind hud urg 4. Baran
2. Ra tnagiri 5. Nagaur
3. Satara 6. Dhaulpur
4. Bid 7. Bundi
5. Jalna 8. Bharatpur
6. Latur 9. Hanumangarh
7. Raigarh 10. Bh ilwara
8. Sangli 11. )hunjhunu

Contd. on next page

8 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 2

(b) "applicant" means the head of a household or any of its other adult
members who has applied for employment under the Scheme;
(c) "Block" means a community development area within a district
comprising a group of Gram Panchayats;

Contd. from previous page

(1) (2) (1) (2)

12. Sikar 11. Shahjahanpur

13. Pali 12. Etawah
14. Ganganagar 13. Bulandshahr
15. Ch um 14. Bijnore
16. Jodhpur 15. Allahabad
17. Bikaner 16. Jyotiba Ph ulc Nagar
18. Ajmer 17. Rampur
19. Jaipur 18. Muzaffamagar
20. Kota 19. Sah aranpu r
Sikki m 1. West Sikkim 20. Mathura
Tamil Nadu 1. A,riyalur 21. Ali~<1rh
2. Dharmapuri 22. Firozabad
3. Perambalur 23. Moradabad
4. Pudukkottai 24. Bareilly .
5. Ra manathapuram 25. Gautam Buddha Nagar
6. Nam akkal 26. Varanasi
7. Vello re 27. Agra
8. Thoothukkudi (Tuticorin ) 28. Meerut
9. Virudhunagar 29. Ghaziabad
10. Salem 30. Lucknow
11. Erode 31. Kanpur Nagar
12. Tiruchirappa lli Uttaranchal 1. Rudrap rayag
13. Kanchecpuram 2. Bageshwar
14. Theni 3. Uttarkashi
15. Thiruvallur 4. Almora
16. Madurai 5. Garhwal
17. The Nilgiris 6. Pithoragarh
18. Kanniyakumari 7. Nainital
19. Coimbatore 8. Dehradun
20. Krishnagiri West Bengal 1. Howrah
Tripura l. North Tripura Goa t. North Goa
Uttar Prad esh 1. G hazipur 2. South Goa
2. Deoria Union T erritories
3. Sant Ravidas Nagar A&N Isla nd 1. Andamans
(Bhadohi) 2. Nicobars
4. Faizab ad D & N Haveli 1. D & N Haveli
5. Auraiya Daman & Diu 1. Daman
6. Mainp uri 2. Diu
7. Kannauj Lakshadweep 1. Lakshadwecp
8. Pilibhit Puducherry 1. Puducherry
9. Baghpat Chandigarh 1. Chandigarh
10. H athras

Came into force on 1-4-2008, vide G.S.R. 3(E), dated 31st December, 2007, in different areas in
the States and the Union territory as specified in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
States Areas in the States (Districts) Union Territory Areas in the Union Territory (Districts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)

Karnataka 1. Ramanagara Andama n and

2. C hikkaballapura Nicobar Islands t . South Andama11
Punjab 1. SAS Nagar
2. Taran Taran 2. North and Middle
3. Barnala Andaman

• Contd. on next page

Sec. 2] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 9

(d) "Central Council" means the Central Employment Guarantee

Council constituted under sub-section (1) of section 10;
(e) "District Programme Coordinator" means an officer of the State
Government designated as such under sub-section (1) of section 14
for implementation of the Scheme in a district;
(f) "household" means the members of a family related to each other by
blood, marriage or adoption and normally residing together and
sharing meals or holding a common rat~on card;
(g) "implementing agency" includes any department of the C_e ntral
Government or a State Government, a Zila Parishad, Panchayat at
intermediate level, Gram Panchayat or any local authority · or
Government undertaking or non-governmental organisation
authorized by the Central Government or the State Government to
undertake the implementation of any work taken up under a Scheme;
(h) "minimum wage", in relation to any area, means the minimum wage
fixed by the State Government under section 3 of the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948) for agricultural labourers as applicable
in that area;
(i) "National Fund" means the National Employment Guarantee Fund
established under sub-section (1) of section 20;
(j) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;
(k) "preferred work" means any work which is taken up for
implementation on a priority basis under a Scheme;
(1) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "Programme Officer" means an officer appointed under sub-section
(1) of section 15 for implementing the Scheme;
(n) "project" means any work taken up under a Scheme for the purpose
of providing employment to the applicants;

Contd. from previous page

Came in to force on 1-4-2008, vide G.S.R. 93(E), dated 11th February, 2008, in the different areas
in the States/Union territories as indicated in the Schedule g iven below:

SCHEDULE
States Areas in the States (Districts) States Areas in the States (Districts)
(1) (2) (1) (2)

Gujarat 1. Tapi Arunachal Pradesh 1. Anjaw

Came into force on 1-4-2008, vide S.O. 818(E), dated 4th April, 2008, in the different areas in
the States/Union territories as indicated in the Schedule given below:
SCHEDULE
States Areas in the States (Districts)
(1) (2)
Rajasthan Pratapgarh
1O The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 2

(o) "rural area" means any area in a State except those areas covered by
any urban local body or a Cantonment Board established or
constituted under any law for the time being in force;
(p) "Scheme" means a Scheme notified by the State Government under
sub-section (1) of section 4;
(q) "State Council" means the State Employment Guarantee Council
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 12;
(r) "unskilled manual work" means any physical work which any adult
person is capable of doing without any skill or special training;
(s) "wage rate" means the wage rate referred to in section 6.

CHAPTER II
GUARANTEE OF EMPLOYMENT IN RURAL AREAS
3. Guarantee of rural employment to households.-(1) Save as otherwise
provided, the State Government shall, in such rural area in the State as may be
notified by the Central Government, provide to every household whose adult
members volunteer to do unskilled manual work not less than one hundred days
of such work in a financial year in accordance with the Scheme made under this
Act.
(2) Every person who has done the work given to him under the Scheme
shall be entitled to receive wages at the wage rate for each day of work.
(3) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the disbursement of daily wages
shall be made on a weekly basis or in any case not later than a fortnight after the
date on which such work was done.
(4) The Central Government or the State Government may, within the limits
of its economic capacity and development, make provisions for securing ~ork to
every adult member of a household under a Scheme for any period beyond the
period guaranteed under sub-section (1), as may be expedient.
COMMENTS
This section provides the guarantee of employment to poor rural households. The
State Government shall provide to every poor hot1sehold whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual wqrk not less than one hundred days of such work in a financial
year. It further provides that every person who has done the work given to him under
the Scheme shall be entitled to receive wages at the wage rate for each day of work on
a weekly basis or in any case not later than a forhught after the date on whlch such work .
was done. [Notes on Clauses]
CHAPTER III
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEMES AND
UNEMPLOYMENT ALLOWANCE
4. Employment Guarantee Schemes for rural areas;-(1) For the purposes of
rf.ving effect to the provisions of section 3, every State Government shall, within
[one year] from the date of commencement of this Act, by notification, make a
Scheme, for providing not less than one hundred days of guaranteed
employment in a financial year to every household in the rural areas covered
1. Subs. by S.0. 14(E), dated 4-1-2006, for "six months".
Sec. 6) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 11

m1der the Scheme and whose adult members, by application, volunteer to do

unskilled manual work subject to the conditions laid down by or under this Act
and in the Scheme: ·
Provided that until any s uch Scheme is notified by the State Government, the
Annual Action Plan or Perspective Plan for the Sampoorna Grmneen Rozgnr Yojana
(SGRY) or the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) whichever is in
force in the concerned area immediately before such notification shall be deemed
to be the action plan for the Scheme for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The State Government shall publish a summary of the Scheme made by
it in at least two local newspapers, one of which shall be in a vernacular
language circulating in the area or areas to which such Scheme shall apply.
(3) The Scheme made under sub-section (1) shall provide for the minimum
features specified in Schedule I.
COMMENTS
This section provides that for the purposes of giving effect to the provisions of
section 3, every State Government shall, by notification, make a Scheme, for providing not
less than one hundred days of guaranteed employment in a fina ncial year to every
household in the rural areas covered under the Scheme and whose adult members, by
application, volunteer to do unskilled manual work. [Notes on Clauses]
5. Conditions for providing guaranteed employment.-(1) The State
Government may, without prejudice to the conditions specified in Schedule II,
specify in the Scheme the conditions for providing guaranteed employment
under this Act.
(2) The persons employed under any Scheme made under this Act shall be
entitled to such facilities not less than the minimum facilities specified in
Schedule II.
COMMENTS
This section provides that the State Government may, without prejudice to the
conditions specified in Schedule II, specify in the Scheme the conditions for providing
guaranteed employment. The persons employed w1d er any Scheme made under the Act
shall be entitled to such facilities not less than the minimum facilities specified in
Schedule II. [Notes on Clauses]
6. Wage rate.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948), the Central Government may, by notification,
specify the wage rate for the purposes of this Act:
Provided that different rates of wages may be specified for different areas:
Provided further that the wage rate specified from time to time under any
such notification shall not be a t a rate less than sixty rupees per day.
(2) Until such time as a wage rate is fixed by the Central Government in
respect of any area in a State, the minimum wage fixed by the State Government
under section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 (11 of 1948) for agricultural
labourers, shall be considered as the wage rate applicable to that area.
COMMENTS
This section defines the wage ra te and also provides that notwithstanding anything
contained in the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, the Central Government, may, by
12 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 6
notification, specify the wage rate for the purposes of the Act, which may be different for
different areas. Until such time as a wage rate is fixed by the Central. Goverrunent in
respect of any area in a State, the minimum wage fixed by the State Government under
section 3 of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for agricultural labourers shall be considered
as the wage rate applicable to that area. [Notes on Clauses]
7. Payment of unemployment allowance.-(1) If an applicant for
employment under the Scheme is not provided such employment within fifteen
days of receipt of his application seeking employment or from the date on which
the employment has been sought in the case of an advance application,
whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily tmemployment allowance in
accordance with this section.
(2) Subject to such terms and conditions of eligibility as may be prescribed
by the State Government and subject to the provisions of this Act and the
Schemes and the economic capacity of the State Government, the tmemployment
allowance payable under sub-section (1) shall be paid to the applicants of a
household subject to the entitlement of the household at such rate as may be
specified by the State Government, by notification, in consultation with the State
Council:
Provided that no such rate shall be less than one-fourth of the wage rate for
the first thirty days during the financial year and not less than one-half of the
wage rate for the remaining period of the financial year.
(3) The liability of the State Government to pay unemployment allowance to
a household during any financial year shall cease as soon as-
(a) the applicant is directed by the Gram Panchayat or the Programme
Officer to report for work either \by himself or depute at least one
adult member of his household; or .
(b) the period for which employment is sought comes to an end and no
member of the household of the applicant had turned up for
employment; or
(c) the adult members of the household of the applicant have received in
total at least one hundred days of work within the financial year; or
(d) the household of the applicant has earned as much from the wages
and tmemployment allowance taken together which is equal to the
wages for one hundre<! days of work during the financial year.
(4) The unemployment allowance payable to the household of an applicant
jointly shall be sanctioned and disbursed by the Programme Officer or such local
authority (including the Panchayats at the district, intermediate or village level)
as the State Government may, by notification, authorise in this behalf.
(5) Every payment of unemployment allowance under sub-section (1) shall
be made or offered not later than fifteen days from the date on which it became
due for payment.
(6) The State Government may prescribe· the procedure for payment of
unemployment allowance uhder this Act.
COMMENTS
This section lays down the terms and conditions for payment of unemployment
allowance. If an applicant for employment under the Scheme is not provided employment
Sec. 1OJ The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 13
as per the provisions of the Act within fifteen days of receipt of his application seeking
employment or from the date on which the employment has been sought in the case of
an advance application, whichever is later, he shall be entitled to a daily unemployment
allowance in accordance with this section. The unemployment allowance payable shall be
paid to the applicants of a household subject to the entitlement of the household provided
that no such rate shall be less than one-fourth of the wage rate for the first thirty days
during the relevant financial year and not less than one-half of the wage rate for the
remaining period of the financial year. [Notes on Clauses]
· 8. Non-disbursement of unemployment allowance in certain
circumstances.-(1) If the Programme Officer is not in a position to disburse the
unemployment allowance in time or at all for any reason beyond his control, he
shall report the matter to the District Programme Coordinator and announce
such reasons in a notice to be displayed on his noti•e board and the notice board
of the Gram Panchayat and such other conspicuous places as he may deem
n ecessary.
(2) Every case of non-payment . or delayed payment of unemployment
allowance shall be reported in the annual report submitted by the District
Programme Coordinator to the State Government alongwith the reasons for such
non-payment or delayed payment.
(3) The State Government shall take all measures to make the payment of
unemployment allowance reported under sub-section (1) to the concerned
~10usehold as expeditiously as possible.
9. Disentitlement to receive unemployment allowance in - certain
circumstances.-An applicant who-
(a) does not accept the employment provided to his household under a
Scheme; or
(b) does not report for work w ithin fifteen days of being notified by the
Programme Officer .or the implementing agency to report for the
work; or
(c) continuously remains absent from work, without obtaining a
permission from the concerned implementing agency for a period of
more than one week or remains absent for a total period of more than
one week in any month,
shall not be eligible to claim the unemployment allowance payable under this
Act for a period of three months but shall be eligible to seek employment under
the Scheme at any time.

CHAPTER IV
IMPLEMENTING AND MONITORING AUTHORITIES
10. Central Employment Guarantee Council.-(1) With effect from such
date as the Central Government may, by notification specify, there shall be
constituted a Council to be called the Central Employment Guarantee Council to
discharge the functions, and perform the duties, assigned to it by or under this
Act.
(2) The headquarters of the Central Council shall be at Delhi.
14 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 1O

(3) The Central Council shall consist of the following members to be

appointed by the Central Government, namely:-
(a) a Chairperson;
(b) not more than such number of representatives of the Central
Ministries including the Planning Commission not below the rank of
Joint Secretary to the Government of India as may be determined by
the Central Goverrunent;
(c) not more than such number of representatives of the State
Governments as may be determined by the Central Government;
(d) not more than fifteen non-official members representing Panchayati
Raj Institutions, organisations of workers and disadvantaged groups:
Provided that such non-official members shall include two
chairpersons of Dis trict Panchayats nominated by the Central
Government by rotation for a period of one year at a time:
Provided further that not less than one-third of the non-official
members nominated under this clause shall be women:
Provided also that not less than one-third of the non-official
members shall be belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled
Tribes, the other Backward Classes and Minorities;
(e) such number of representatives of the States as the Central
Government may, by rules, determine in this behalf;
(f) a Member-Secretary not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the
Government of India.
(4) The terms and conditions subject to which the Chairperson and other
members of the Central Council may be appointed and the time, place and
procedure of the meetings (including the quorum at such meetings) of the
Central Council shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government.
11. Functions and duties of Central Council.- (1) The Central Council shall
perform and discharge the following functions and duties, namely:-
(a) establish a central evaluation and monitoring system;
(b) advise the Central Government on all matters concerning the
implementation of this Act;
(c) review the monitoring a1:i.d redressal mechanism from time to time
and recommend improvements required;
(d) promote the w idest possible dissemination of information about the
Schemes made under this Act;
(e) monitoring the implementation of this Act;
(f) preparation of annual reports to be laid before Parliament by the
Central Government on the implementation of this Act;
(g) any other duty or function as may be assigned to it by the Central
Government.
(2) The Central Council shall have the power to undertake evaluation of the
various Schemes made under this Act and for that purpose collect or cause to be
Sec. 12] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 15

collected statistics pertaining to the rural economy and the implementation of the
Schemes.
·12. State Employment Guarantee Council.-(1) For the purposes of regular
monitoring and reviewing the implementation of this Act at the State level, every
State Government shall constitute a Sta te Council to be known as the ............. .
(name of the State) State Employment Guarantee Council with a Chairperson
and such number of official members as may be determined by the State
Government and not more than fifteen non-official members nominated by the
State Government from Panchayati Raj institutions, organizations of workers
and disadvantaged groups:
Provided that not less than one-third of the non-official members nominated
under this clause shall be women:
Provided further that not less than one third of the non-official members
shall be belonging to the Scheduled Castes, the Scheduled Tribes, the Other
Backward Classes and Minorities.
(2) The terms and conditions subject to which the Chairperson and members
of the State Council may be appointed and the time, place and procedure of the
meetings (including the quorum at such meetings) of the State Council shall be
such as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(3) The duties and functions of the Sta te Council shall include-
(a) advising the State Government on all matters concerning the Scheme
and its implementation in the State;
(b) determining the preferred works;
(c) reviewing the monitoring and redressal mechanisms from time to
time and recommending improvements;
(d) promoting the widest possible dissemination of information about
this Act and the Schemes- under it;
(e) monitoring the implementation of this Act and the Schemes in the
State and coordinating such implementation w ith the Central
Council;
(f) preparing the annual report to be laid before the State Legislature by
the State Government;
(g) any other duty or function as may be assigned to it by the Central
Council or the State Government.
(3) The State Council shall have the p ower to undertake an evaluation of the
Schemes operating in the State and for that purpose to collect or cause to be
collected statistics pertaining to the rural economy and the implementation of the
Schemes and Programmes in the State.
COMMENTS
This section provides that the State Government shall, by notification, constitute a
State Employment Guarantee Council for the purposes of regular monitoring and
reviewing the implementation of the Act at the State l<;vel. It further provides for the
composition of the State Council. [Notes on Clauses]
16 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 13

13. Principal authorities for planning and implementation of Schemes. -

(1) The Panchayats at district, intermediate and village levels shall be the
principal authorities for planning and implementation of the Schemes m ad e
under this Act.
(2) The functions of the Panchayats at the district level shall be-
(a) t~ finalise and approve blockwise shelf of projects to be taken up
under a programme under the Scheme;
(b) to supervise and monitor the p rojects taken up at the Block level and
district level; and
(c) to carry out such other functions as m ay be assigned to it by the State
Council, from time to time.
(3) The functions of the Panchayat at intermediate level shall be-
(a) to approve the Block level Plan for forwarding it to the district
Panchayat at the district level for final approval;
(b) to supervise and monitor the p rojects taken up at the Gram
Panchayat and Block level; and
(c) to carry out such other functions as may be assigned to it by the State
Council, from time to time
(4) The District Programme Coordinator shall assist the Panchayat at the
district level in discharging its functions under this Act and any Scheme made
thereunder.
14. District Programme Coordinator.- (1) The Chief Executive Officer of the
District Panchayat or the Collector of the district or any other district level officer
of appropriate rank as the State Government may d ecide i;hall be d esignated as
the District Programme Coordinator for the implementation of the Scheme in the
district.
· (2) The District Programme Coordinator shall be responsible for the
implementation of the Scheme in the district in accordance with the provisions
of this Act and the rules made thereunder.
(3) The functions of the District Programme Coordinator shall be-
(a) to assist the district Panchayat irl discharging its functions under this
Act and any Scheme m ade thereunder;
(b) to consolidate the plans prepared by the Blocks and project proposals
received from other implementing agencies for inclusion in the shelf
of projects to be approved by the Panchayat at district level;
(c) to accord necessary sanction and administrative clearance, wherever
necessary;
(d) to coordinate w ith the Programme Officers functioning within his
jurisdiction and the implementing agencies to ensure that the
applicants are provided employment as p er their entitlements w1der
this Act;
(e) to 'r eview, monitor and supervise the performance of the Programme
Officers;
Sec. 15] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 17

(f) to conduct periodic inspection of the works in progress; and ·

(g) to redress the grievances of the applicants.
(4) The. State Government shall delegate such administrative and financial
powers to the District Programme Coordinator as may be required to enable him
to carry out his functions under this Act.
(5) The Programme Officer appointed w1der sub-section (1) of section 15 and
all other officers of the State Government and local authorities and bodies
functioning within the district shall be responsible to assist the District
Programme Coordinator in carrying out his functions under this Act and the
Schemes made thereunder.
(6) The District Programme Coordinator shall prepare in the month of
December every year a labour budget for the next financial year containing the
details of anticipated demand for unskilled manual work in the district and the
plan for engagement of labourers in the works covered under the Scheme and
submit it to the district panchayat.
15. Programme Officer.-(1) At every Panchayat at intermediate level, the
State Government shall appoint a person who is not below the rank of Block
Development Officer with such qualifications and experience as may be
determined by the State Government as Programme Officer at the panchayat at
intermediate level.
(2) The Programme Officer shall assist the Panchayat at intermediate level in
discharging its functions under this Act and any Scheme made thereunder.
. (3) The Programme Officer shall be responsible for matching the demand for
employment with the employment opportunities arising from projects in the area
under his jurisdiction.
(4) The Programme Officer shall prepare a plan for the Block under his
jurisdiction by consolidating the project proposals prepared by the Gram
Panchayats and the proposals received from intermediate panchayats.
(5) The functions of the Programme Officer shall include-
(a) monitoring of projects taken up by the Gram Panchayats and other
implementing agencies within the Block;
(b) sanctioning and ensuring payment of unemployment allowance to
the eligible households;
(c) ensuring prompt and fair payment of wages to all labourers
employed under a programme of the Scheme within the Block;
(d) ensuring that regular social audits of all works within the jurisdiction
of the Gram Panchayat are carried out by the Gram Sabha and that
prompt action is taken on t'he objections raised in the social audit;
(e) dealing promptly with all complaints that may arise in connection
with the implementation of the Scheme within the Block; and
(f) any other work as may be assigned to him by the District Programme
Coordinator or the State Government.
(6) The Programme Officers shall function under the direction, control and
superintendence of the District Programme Coordinator.
18 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (Sec. 15

(7) The State Government may, by order, direct that all or any of the
functions of a Programme Officer shall be discharged by the Gram Panchayat or
a local authority.
COMMENTS
This section provides tha t for every Block, the State Government shall appoin t a
person as the Programme Officer for implementing the Scheme in that Block.
[Notes on Clauses]
16. Responsibilities of the Gram Panchayats.- (1) The Gram Panchayat
shall be responsible for identification of the projects in the Gram Panchayat area
to be taken up under a Scheme as p er the recommendations of the Gram Sabha
and the Ward Sabhas and for executing and supervising such works.
(2) A Gram Panchayat may take up any project under a Scheme w ithin the
area of the Gram Panchayat as may be sanctioned by the Programme Officer.
(3) Every Gram Panchayat shall, after considering the recommendations of
the Gram Sabha and the Ward Sabhas, prepare a development plan and
maintain a shelf of possible works to be taken up under the Scheme as and when
demand for work arises.
(4) The Gram Panchayat shall forward its proposals for the developmen t
projects including the order of priority between different works to the
Programme Officer for scrutiny and preliminary approval prior to the
commencement of the year in which it is proposed to be executed .
(5) The Programme Officer shall allot at least fifty per cent. of the works in
terms of its cost under a Scheme to be implemented through the Gram
Panchayats.
(6) The Programme Officer shall supply each Gram Panchayat w ith-
(a) the muster rolls for the works sanctioned to be executed by it; and
(b) a list of employment opportunities available elsewhere to the ·
residents of the Gram Panchayat.
(7) The Gram Panchayat shall allocate employment opportunities among the
applicants and ask them to report for w ork.
(8) The w orks taken up by a Gram Pa~chayat under a Scheme shall meet the
required technical standards and measurements.
17. Social audit of work by Gram Sabha.- (1) The Gram Sabha shall
monitor the execution of works within the Gram Panchayat.
(2) The Gram Sabha shall conduct regular social audits of all the projects
under the Scheme taken up within the Gram Panchayat.
(3) The Gram Panchayat shall make avail<1hle all relevant documents
including the mus ter rolls, bills, vouchers, measurement books, copies of
sanction orders and other connected books of account and pap ers t<;> the Gram
Sabha for the purpose of conducting the social audit.
COMMENTS
This section p rovides that the Gram Sabha shall monitor the execution of works
w ithin the Gram Panchayat and conduct regular social a udit of all projects under the
scheme. [Notes on Clauses]
Sec. 21) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 19

18. Responsibilities of State Government in implementing Scheme.--The

State Government shall make available to the District Programme Coordinator
and the Programme Officers necessary staff and technical support as may be
necessary for the effective implementation of the Scheme.
COMMENTS
This section provides that the State Government shall make available tu the Disfrict
Programme Coordinator a nd the Programme Officers necessary staff and technical
support as may be necessary for the effective ilnplen:entation of the Scheme.
[Notes on Clauses]
19. Grievance redressal mechanism.-The State Government shall, by rules,
determine appropriate grievance redressal mechanisms at the Block level and the
district level for dealing with any complaint by any person in respect of
implementation of the Scheme and lay down the procedure for disposal of such
complaints.

CHAPTER V
ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT
GUARANTEE FUNDS AND AUDIT
20. National Employment Guarantee Fund.-(1) The Central Government
shall, by notification, establish a fund to be called the National Employment
Guarantee Fund for the purposes of this Act.
(2) The Central Government may, after due appropriation made by
Parliament by law in this behalf, credit by wa.y of grants or loans such sums of
money as the Central Government may consider necessary to the National Fund.
(3) The amount standing to the credit of the National Fund shall be utilised
in such manner and subject to such conditions and limitations as may be
prescribed by the Central Government.
COMMENTS
This section provides that the Central Government ·shall establish National
Employment Guarantee Fund. The Central Government may credit by way of grants or
loans such sums of money to the National Fund. It further provides that the amount
standing to the credit of the National Fund shall be utilized i11 such maru1er and subject
to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed by the Central Government, by
rules. [Notes on Clauses]
21. State Employment Guarantee Fund.-(1) The State Government may, by
notification, establish a fund to be called the State Employment Guarantee Fund
for the purposes of implementation of the Scheme.
(2) The amount standing to the credit of the State Fund shall be expended in
such manner and subject to such conditions and limitations as may be prescribed
by the State Government for the purposes of implementation of this Act and the
Schemes made thereunder and for meeting the administrati ve expenses in
connection with the implementation of this Act
(3) The State Fund shall be held and administered on behalf of the State
Government in such maru1er and by such authority as may be prescribed by the
State Goverrunent.
20 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 21

COMMENTS
This section provides that the State Government may establish State Employment
Guarantee Fw1d for the purposes of ,the implementation of the Scheme. It further lays
down the conditions for operationalisation and fwlctioning of the State Employment
Guarantee Fund. [Notes on Clauses]
22. Funding pattern.-(1) Subject to the rules as may be made by the Central
Government in this behalf, the Central Government shall meet the cost of the
following, namely:-
(a) the amount required for p ayment of wages for unskilled manual
work under the Scheme;
(b) up to three-fourths of the material cost of the Scheme including
payment of wages to skilled and semi-skilled workers subject to the
provisions of Schedule II;
(c) such percentage of the total cost of the Scheme as may be determined
by the Central Government towards the administrative expenses,
which may include the salary and allowances of the Programme
Officers and his supporting staff, the administrative expenses of the
Central Council, facilities to be· provided under Schedule II and such
other item as may be decided by the Central Government.
(2) The State Government shall meet the cost of the following, namely:-
(a) the cost of unemployment allowance payable under the Scheme;
(b) one-fourth of the material cost of the Scheme including payment of
wages to skilled and semi-skilled workers subject to the provisions of
Schedule II;
(c) the administrative expenses of the State Council.
23. Transparency and accountability.-(1) The District Programme
Coordinator and all implementing agencies in the District shall be responsible for
the proper utilisation and management of the funds placed at their disposal for
the purpose of implementing a Scheme.
(2) The State Government may prescribe the manner of maintaining proper
books and accounts of employment of labourers and the expenditure incurred in
connection with the implementation of the provisions of this Act and the
Sch emes made thereunder.
(3) The State Government may, by rules, determine the arrangements to be
made for the proper execution of Schemes and programmes under the Schemes
and to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels in the implementation
of the Schemes.
(4) All payments of wages in cash and unemployment allowances shall be
made directly to the person concerned and in the presence of independent
persons of the community on pre-announced dates.
(5) If an y dispute or complaint arises concerning the implementation of a
Scheme by the Gram Panchayat, the matter shall be referred to the Programme
Officer.
Sec. 28) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 21

(6) The Programme Officer shall enter every complaint in a complaint

register maintained by him and shall dispose of the disputes and complaints
within seven days of its receipt and in case it relates to a matter to be resolved
by any other authority it shall be forwarded to such authority under intimation
to the complainant.
24. Audit of accounts.-(1) The Central Government may, in consultation
with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, prescribe appropriate
arrangements for audits of the accounts of the Schemes at all levels.
(2) The accounts of the Scheme shall be maintained in such form and in such
manner as may be prescribed by the State Government.
CHAPTER VI
MISCELLANEOUS
25. Penalty for non-compliance.- Whoever contravenes the provisions of
this Act shall on conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand
rupees.
26. Power to delegate.-(1) The Central Government may, by notification,
direct that the powers exercisable by it (excluding the power to make rules) may,
in such circumstances and subject to such conditions and limitations, be
exercisable also by the State Government or such officer subordinate to the
Central Government or the State Government as it may specify in such
notification.
(2) The State Government may, by notification, direct that the powers
exercisable by it (excluding the power to make rules and Schemes) may, in such
circumstances and subject to such conditions and limitations, be exercisable also
by such officer subordinate to it as it may specify in such notification.
27. Power of Central Government to give directions.-(1) The Central
Government may give such directions as it may consider necessary to the State
Government for the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (1), the Central
Government may, on receipt of any complaint regarding the issue or improper
utilisation of funds granted under this Act in respect of any Scheme if prima Jacie
satisfied that there is a case, cause an investigation into the complaint made by
any agency designated by it and if necessary, order stoppage of release of funds
to the Scheme and institute appr~priate remedial measures for its proper
implementation within a reasonable period of time.
28. Act to have overriding effect.-The provisions of this Act or the Schemes
made thereunder shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent
therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or in any
instrument having effect by virtue of such law:
Provided that where a State enactment exists or is enacted to provide
employment guarantee for unskil~ed manual work to rural households consistent
with the provisions of this Act w1der which the entitlement of the households is
not less than and the conditions of employment are not inferior to what is
guaranteed under this Act, the State Government shall have the option of
implementing its own enactment:
22 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sec. 28

Provided further that in s uch cases the financial assistance shall be paid to
the concerned State Government in such manner as shall be determined by the
Central Government, which shall not exceed what the State would have been
entitled to receive under this Act had a Scheme made under this Act had to be
implemented .
29. Power to amend Schedules.- (1) If the Central Government is s<itisfied
that it is necessary or expedient so to do, it may, by notification, amend
Schedule I or Schedule II and thereupon Schedule I or Schedule II, as the case
may be, shall be deemed to have been amended accordingly.
(2) A copy of every notification made under sub-section (1) shall be laid
before each House of Parliament as soon as may be after it is made.
30. Protection of action taken in good faith.- No suit, prosecution or other
legal proceedings shall lie against the District Programme Coordinator,
Programme Officer or any other person who is, or who is deemed to be, a public
servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860)
in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under
this Act or the rules or Schemes made thereunder.
COMMENTS
This section provides for protection of action taken in good faith by the District
Programme Coordinator, Programme Officer or any other person who is, or who is
deemed to be, a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
[Notes on Clauses]
31. Power of Central Government to make rules.-(1) The Central
Government may, by notification, and subject to the condition of previous
publication, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without the prejudice of the foregoing po.wer, such
rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-
(a) the number of representatives of the State Governments under clause
(e) of sub-section (3) of section 10;
(b) the terms and conditions subject to which the Chairman and other
members of the Central Council" may be appointed, and . the ti.me,
place and procedure of the meetings (including the quorum at such
meetings) of the Central Council, under sub-section (4) of section 10;
(c) the manner in which and. the conditions and limitations subject to
which the National Fund shall be utiliz~d under sub-section (3) of
section 20;
(d) the rules relating to funding pattern to meet the cost of certain items
under sub-section (1) of section 22;
(e) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed or in respect
of which provision is to be made by the Central Government by rules.
32. Power of State Government to make rules.-(1) The State Government
may, by notification, and subject to the condition of previous publication, and
consistent with this Act and the rules made by the Central Government,, make
rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
 Sec. 34) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 23

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing

power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:-
(a) the terms and conditions upon which eligibility for unemployment
allowance may be determined under sub-section (2) of section 7;
(b) the procedure for payment of unemployment allowance under sub-
section (6) of section 7;
(c) the terms and conditions subject to which the Chairperson and
members of the State Council may be appointed, and the time, place
and procedure of the meetings (including the quorum at such
meetings) of their appointment to the State Council, under sub-
section (2) of section 12;
(d) the grievance redressal mechanism at the Block level and the
District level and the procedure to be followed in such matter under
section 19;
(e) the manner in which and the conditions and limitations subject
to which the State Fund shall be utilised under sub-section (2) of
section 21;
(f) the authority who may administer and the manner in which he may
hold the State Fund under sub-section (3) of section 21;
(g) the manner of maintaining books of account of employment of
labourers and the expenditure under sub-section (2) of section 23;
(h) the arrangements required for proper execution of Schemes under
sub-section (3) of section 23; ·
(i) the form and manner in which the accounts of the Scheme shall be
maintained under sub-section (2) of section 24;
(j) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed or in respect
of which provision is to be made by the State Government by rules.
33. Laying of rules and Schemes.-(1) Every rule made by the Central
Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,
before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty
days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive
sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the
session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any
modification in the rule or both the Houses agree that the rule should not be
made, the rule shall have thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be
of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or
arnmlment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done
tmder that rule.
(2) Every rule or Scheme made by the State Government under this Act shall,
as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each House of the State
Legislature where there are two Houses, and where there is one House of the
State Legislature, before that House.
34. Power to remove difficulties.-(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect
to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, by order published
in the Official Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent w ith the
provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing
the difficulty:
Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of
three years from the commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order m ade under this section shall be laid; as soon as may be after
it is made, before each House of Parliament.
24 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. I
1[SCHEDULE I
[See section 4(3))
MINIMUM FEATURES OF A RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME
1. The Scheme notified under section 4 by all Sta tes shall be called the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme" and all documents pertaining to
the said Scheme shall have a mention of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005).
2. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme shall
hereinafter be referred to as "Mahahna Gandhi NREGS" and any reference in the said
scheme to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 shall
be referred to as "Mahatma Gandhi NREGA".
3. The core objectives of the Scheme sha ll be the following:-
(a) Providing not less than one hundred days of unskilled manual work as a
guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household in rural areas
as per demand, resulting in creation of productive assets of prescribed
quality and durability;
(b) Strengthening the livelihood resource base of the poor;
(c) Proactively ensuring social inclusion; and
(d) Strengthening Panchayat Raj ins titutions:
Provided that the said objectives are applicable w here the adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual work subject to the conditions laid down by or under this Act and
in the Scheme.
4. (1) The focus of the Scheme shall be on the following works as categorised below:
I. Category: A: PUBLIC WORKS RELATING TO NATURAL RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
(i) Water conservation and water harvesting structures to augment and
improve grow1dwater like underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams,
check dams with special focus on recharging ground water including
drinking water sources;
(ii) Watershed management works such as contour trenches, terracing, contour
bunds, boulder checks, gabion structures and spring shed development
resulting in a comprehensive treatment of a watershed;
(iii) Micro and minor irriga tion works and creation, renovation and maintenance
of irrigation canals and drains;
2[(iv) renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of irrigation tanks

and other water bodies and. co11servation of old step wells or baolis;J
(v) Afforestation, tree plantation and h orticulture in common and forest lands,
road margins, canal bunds, tank foreshores and coastal belts duly providing
right to usufruct to the h ouseholds covered in Paragraph 5; and
(vi) Land development works in common land .
1. Subs. by S.0. 19(E), dated 3rd January, 2014, for Schedule I (w.e.f. 3-1-2014). Earlier Sclied11/e I
was amended by S.0. 323(E), dated 6th March, 2007; by S.0. 88(E), dated 14th January, 2008;
by S.O. 1489(E), dated 18th June, 2008; by S.O. 3000(E), dated 31st December, 2008; by S.0.
1824(E), dated 22nd July, 2009; by S.O. 1860(E), dated 30th July, 2010; by S.0. 1484(E), dated
30th June, 2011; by S.O. 2202(E), dated 22nd September, 2011; by S.O. 2423(E), dated 21st
October, 2011; by S.0. 1022(E), dated 4th may, 2012; by S.O. 2754(E), dated 21st November,
2012; by S.O. 164(E), dated 14th January, 2013; by S.0. 867(E), dated 1st April, 2013; by S.O.
1770(E), dated 20th June, 201 3; by S.O. 3423(E), dated 11th November, 2013.
2. Subs. by S.O. 973(E), dated 27th March, 2017, for sub-item (iv).
 Sch. I) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 25
II. Category B: 1 [COMMUNITY ASSETS OR INDIVIDUAL ASSETS] FOR
VULNERABLE SECTIONS (ONLY FOR HOUSEHOLDS IN PARAGRAPH 5)
(i) Improving productivity of lands of households specified in Paragraph 5
through land development and by providing suitable infrastructure for
irrigation including dug wells, farm ponds and other water h arvesting
structures;
(ii) Improving livelihoods through horticulture, sericulture, plantation, and farm
forestry;
(iii) Development of fallow or waste lands of households defined in Paragraph
5 to bring it under cultivation;
(iv) Unskilled wage component in construction of houses sanctioned under the
Indira Awaas Yojana or such other State or Central Government Scheme;
(v) Creating infrastructure for promotion of livestock such as, poultry shelter,
goat shelter, piggery shelter, cattle shelter and fodder h'oughs for cattle; and
(vi) Creating infrastructure for promotion of fisheries such as, fish drying yards,
storage facilities, and promotion of fisheries in seasonal water bodies on
public land; __..--
III. Category C: COMMON INFRASTRUCTURE 2 [INCLUDING FOR NRLM]
COMPLIANT SELF HELP GROUPS
(i) Works for promoting agricultural productivity by creating durable
infrastructure required for bio-fertilizers and post-harvest facilities including
pucca storage facilities for agricultural produce; and
(ii) Common work-sheds for livelihood activities of self-help groups.
IV. Category D: RURAL INFRASTRUCTURE
(i) Rural sanitation related works, such as, individual household la trines, school
toilet units, f\.nganwadi toilets either independently or in convergence with
- sch emes of other Government Deparhnents to achieve 'open defecation free' ·
status, and solid and liquid waste management as per prescribed norms;
(ii) Providing all-weather rural road connectivity to unconnected villages and to
connect identified rural production centres to the existing pucca road
network; and con struction of pucca internal roads or streets including side
drains and culverts within a village;
3 [(iii) construction of play fields and compound walls for Government run schools

in the villages].
(iv) Works for improving disaster preparedness or restoration of roads or
restoration of other essential public infrastructure including flood control
and protection works, providing drainage in water logged areas, deepening
and repairing of flood channels, chaur renovation, con struction of storm
water drains for coastal protection;
(v) Construction of buildings for Gram Panchayats, women self-help groups'
federations, cyclone shelters, Anganwadi centres, village haats and
crematoria at the village or block level;
(vi) Construction of Food Grain Storage Structures for implementing the
provisions of The National Food Security Act, 2013 (20 of 2013);
(vii) Production of building material required for construction works under the
Act as a part of the estima te of such construction works;
(viii) Maintenance of rural public assets created under the Act; and
(ix) any other work which ~ay be notified by the Central Government in
consultation with the State Government in this regarc!-.
-------
1. Subs. by S.O. 1888(E), dated 21st July, 2014, for "INDIVIDUAL ASSETS".
' 2. Subs. by S.0. 1888(E), dated 21st July, 2014, for "FOR NRLM".
3. Subs. by S.O. 973(E), dated 27th March, 2017, for sub-item (iii).
26 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. I
(2) The order of priority of works shall be determined by each Gram Panchayat in
the meetings of the Gram Sabha keeping in view potential of the local area, its needs, local
resources and in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 9:
1 [Provided that the District Programme Coordinator shall ensure that at least 60% of

the works to be taken up in a district in terms of cost shall be for creation of p roductive
assets directly linked to agriculture and allied activ~ties through development of land,
water and trees.] ·
(3) Works which are non-tangible, not measurable, repetitive such as, removing
grass, p ebbles, agricultu ral operations, shall not be taken up.
5. Works creating individual assets shall be prioritised on land or homestead owned
by households belonging to the:
(a) Scheduled Castes
(b) Scheduled Tribes
(c) nomadic tribes
(d) denotified tribes
(e) other families below the poverty Hne
(f) women-headed households
(g) physically handicapped headed households
(h) beneficiaries of land reforms
(i) the beneficiaries under the Indira Awaas Yojana
U) beneficiaries under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest
Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007>t and
a nd after exhausting the eligible beneficiaries under the above categories, on lands of the
small or marginal farmers as defined in the Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief
Scheme, 2008 subject to the condition that such households shall have a job card with at
least one member willing to work on the project tmdertaken on their land or homestead.
6. The State Government shall take concrete steps to achieve effec tive inter-
departmental convergence till the last mile implementation level of the works w1der the
Scheme with other Government Schemes/programmes so as to improve the quality and
productivity of assets, and bring in synergy to holistically address the multiple
dimensions of poverty in a sustainable maim er.
7. There shall be a systematic, participatory planning exercise at each tier of
Panchayat, conducted between August to December month of every year, as per a
deta iled methodology laid down by the State Government. All works to be executed by
the Gram Panchayats shall be identified and placed before the Gram Sabha, and such
works which are to be executed by the intermec;liate Pahchayats or other implementing
agencies shall be placed before the intermediate or District Panchayats, along with the
expected outcomes.
8. Demand for work, either oral or written, shall be registered as and when required
by any job card holder and in the Rozgar Diwas which is to be conducted at every Ward
and Gram Panchayat level at least once· a month, leading to provision of work as per
demand.
9. (1) Adequa~e shelf of works shall be maintained by every Gram Panchayat to meet
the expected demand for work in such a way that at least one labour intensive public
work with at least one work which is suitable for Particularly Vulnerable Groups
especially the aged and the disabled which shall be kept open at all times to provide work
as per demand. ·
(2) The details of the said work(s) shall be prominently displayed through writings
on the walls of the village.
10. While opening works in the public works category, it shall be ensured that the
ongoing or incomplete works should be completed first.

1. Ins. by S.O. 1888(E), dated 21st July, 2014.

Sch. I) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 27
11. Work shall be provided within fifteen days, from the date of registration of the
d emand for work or the date from which work has been demanded in case of advance
applications, whichever is later.
12. (1) In case work could not be provided as per demand within the specified time
limit, unemployment allowance shall be paid, as calcula ted automatically by the
computer system or the Management Information System and as provided under the Act.
The programme officer can reject the un·employment allowance only on grounds of force
mnje11re.
(2) In cases where unemployment allowance is p aid, or due to be paid, the
Programme Officer shall inform the concerned District Programme Coordinator in
writing the reasons for not providing employment to the applicants.
(3) The District Programme Coordinator shall, in his Annual Report to the Stale
Council explain as to why employment could not provided in cases where payment of
unemployment allowances is involved.
13. Every work under the Scheme sh all have a technical estimate duly sanctioned by
an authority authorised by the State Government. While sanctioning the estimates, the
following are required to be considered: ·
(a) For all works involving consh·uction, cost effective, labour intensive
teclmologies and usage of local materials shall be employed as far as
possible;
(b) The Bill of quantities (used 'in the estimate) is sta ted in common terminology
for easy understanding of a ll stakeholders;
(c) Each work shall have a summary of the estimate, design and a technical note
tha t indicate the expected outcomes from implt menting the work.
14. The works finalised a t the Gram Panchaya t level and consolidated at the Block
or District level shall be given Block-wise administrative or financial sanction by the
competent authority within thirty days from the date of finalisation of the works at the
Gram Panchayat level only after confirming that the shelf of works in any Gram
Panchayat is not less than two times the labour budget approved for that Gra m
Panchayat.
15. The muster rolls for works taken up under the scheme shall be maintained as
follows, name!y:
(a) each muster roll shall be in English or local language and have a unique
identity number electronically generated by the computer System (e-Muster)
along with the list of workers applied for work. Every Muster roll shall be
signed by the authorised person of the Gram Panchayat or by the
Programme Officer; and shall contain such mandatory information as may
be specified by the Central Government;
(b) muster rolls shall be maintained a t the worksite by marking attendance d aily
by a p erson authorised under the Scheme, details of which shall be made
available in public view on a daily basis using the computer system.
(c) the muster roll shall be periodically checked by officials in the manner
prescribed in the Scheme;
(d} the muster roll shall be closed on the last given day, counter-signed by every
worker who has worked, and shall be hand ed over to the technical perso1mel
for measurement;
(e) a detailed record of muster rolls shall be maintained in the registers as
specified from time to time;
28 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. I
(f)when a work is in progress, the workers engaged in that work may select
from amongst themselves not less than five worke rs on a weekly rotational
basis to verify and certify all the bills or vouchers of their worksite at least
once in a week;
(g) any person shall have access to muster rolls on the worksite on demand all
days during all working hours;
16. Payment shall only be made based on the measurements taken at the worksite by
the authorised p ersonnel w ithin three days of closure of the muster rol l. The State
Government shall ensure that adequate technical persmmel are deployed to comple te this
work within the stipulated period. Suitable persons from the families of workers may be
trained or skilled and deployed as barefoot engineers with appropriate delegation of
technical powers and paid wages as skilled workers.
17. The State Government shall link the wages, w ithout any gender bias, with the
q uantity of work done and it shall be paid according to the rural schedule of rates fixed
after time and motion sh1dies for different types of work and different seasons and
revised periodically.
18. A separate Schedule of rates shall be finalised for women, the elderly, people with
disabilities and p eople with debilitating ailments so to improve their participation
through productive work.
19. (a) The schedule of rates of wages for various unskilled labourers shall be fixed
up so that an adult person worked for eight hours which include an hour of rest will earn
a wage which is equal to the stipulated wage rate;
(b) The working hours of an adult worker shall be flexible but shall not spread over
more than twelve ho urs on any day.
1
(20. For all works taken up under the Scheme, by the Gram Panchayat and other
implementing agencies, the cost of the material component including the wages of the
skilled and semi-skilled workers, sh all not exceed forty percent at the district level.]
21. The works executed shall be done without en gaging any contractor.
Implementing agencies under the Scheme shall execute the works in conformity with the
processes specified under the Act and a fter complying with the mandatory proactive
d isclosures and social audit.
22. As far as practicable, works executed by the programme implementation agencies
shall be performed by using manual labour and no labour displacing machines shall be
used.
23. All material required for the works shall be procured by the Gram Panchayat or
the implementing agency using a transparent tender p rocess as specified by the State
Government.
24. Out of the administrative costs a llowed under the Scheme, at leas t one-third
(l/3rd) sha ll be utilised a t the Gram Panchayat level to employ and pay the Gram Rozgar
Sahayak, other technical personnel as per the work done and for other administrative
expenses.
25. Every Scheme to contain adequate provisions for en suring transparency and
accountability at all levels of implementation shall consist of the following measures,
name ly:-
(a) Mandatory Proactive disclosure of basic information to all common people and
stakeholders using a 'Janata Information System' consisting of:

1. Subs. by S.O. 2182(E), dated 22nd June, 2016, for paragraph 20. Earlier paragraph 20 was
substituted by S.0. 1888(E), dated -21st July, 2014.
 Sch. I] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 29
(1) Display at each worksite the 'Janata' estimate of the work - showing the
details of the work, estimated labour days, quantities of materials to be used
in local terminology and item-wise cost of the estimate.
(2) Display on prominent walls or public boards in the village: job cards list,
number of days of work provided and the wages paid to each job card
holder; and entitlements provided under the Act.
(3) Display through boards at the Gram Panchayat Office: shelf of projects
approved, year-wise works taken up or completed by Gram Panchayats and
Line Departments, employment provided, funds received and expenditure,
list of materials with quantities used in each work, rates at which the
material was procured.
(4) Display on the website: The Ministry of Rural Development and the State
Departments of Rural Development shall ensure that their websites are
updated to fully comply with all the seventeen provisions of section 4(1)(b)
I of the Right to Information Act (22 of 2005) and all information about the Act
is available in public domain, through free downloadable electronic form.
(b) Concurrent social audit shall be done for all works every month. For this
purpose, Programme Officer shall make available free of cost, details of works
done and expenditure made during the past one month to the Bharat Nirman
Volunteers, village social auditors, self-help groups, youth organisations and such
other village level organisations for verification and report deviations if any.
(c) Social audit: Implementation of all conditions for guaranteed rural employment
under the Scheme and provision of minimum entitlements of labourers, including
all expenditure under the Act shall be subjected to social audit in the manner
prescribed by Central Government at least once in every six months consisting of
the following:
i. Identification, training of local youth as social auditors; and · formation of
trained social auditor teams for each Gram Panchayat with youth from .
outside the Gram Panchayat to conduct social audit, provided that at least
25% of village social auditors are from SC/ST groups. For services rendered
by such youth, each one of them shall be paid an honorarium at a !·ate not
less than the remuneration payable to the skilled labour under MGNREGA.
ii. Provision of records (muster rolls, M-Books, pay orders) to the social audit
teams free of cost.
iii. Verification of every work site to cross-check the measurements in the field
with that on M-Books; and to assess the utility and outcomes of the work so
executed.
iv. Verification of every disbursement on record with the concerned
beneficiaries.
v. Verification of outcomes with that of estimated outcomes.
vi. Verification of provision of entitlements in the field.
vii. Review the implementation of MGNREGA for vulnerable groups.
viii. Conduct of Public hearings by the social auditors at the Ward/Gram
Panchayat and Block level to read out the findings.
ix. Systematic follow up action on the reports of the social audit and completing
recovery of amounts found misappropriated, and completing suitable
disciplinary/criminal action on the irregularities brought out in social audits
within 6 months from the date of conduct of social audit.
30 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. I
26. Any misappropriation of amounts spent und er the Act shall be recoverable under
the Revenue Laws for recovery prevailing in the State.
27. Provisions for regular inspection and supervision of works by quality control
teams to ensure proper quality of work as well as to ensure tha t the total wages paid for
the completion of the work is as per the quality and quantity of work done.
28. The State Government shall take steps to organize, either through its own
machinery or working with Civil Society Organisations, the workers into formal groups/
labour collectives to improve their p ar ticipation in implementation and to ensure
provision of entitlements provided under the Act.
29. Establish an effective grievance redressal mechanism consisting of:
(a) Institutional mechanisms for receiving grievances as and when they arise,
while fixing one day each week during which all officials shall be necessarily
present for receiving grievances at Ward/GP / Block and District level;
(b) Issuance of dated receipt to complaints accepted in writing, phone, internet
and orally by all personnel a uthorized to receive complaints;
(c) Enquiry through spot verification, inspection and disposal.to be completed
within 7 working days;
(d) On completion of the enquiry, immedia te steps shall be taken by the
concerned authority to redress the grievance within 15 days;
(e) Failure to dispose of a complaint within seven days shall be considered as
a contravention as per section 25 of the A.ct;
(f) In case of a primn fncie evidence regarding financial irregula rities are noticed
after prelimina ry enquiry of the complaint or of find ings in the social a udit
report, the District Programme Coord ina tor after obtaining legal advice will
ensure that a First Information Report is lodged;
(g) The concerned authority sha ll be responsible for informing the person or
party aggrieved of the conclusion of enquiry and steps being taken for the
redressal of his/her grievance, in writing;
(h) The action taken on the complaints received by all agencies shall b e placed
before the meetings of the intermediate Panchayat and the District Panchayat
respectively,
(i) Appeals against the orders of the Gram Panchayat shall be mad e to the
Programme Officer; those against the orders of the Programme Officer shall
be made to District Programme Coordinator; those against the District
Programme Coordinator shall be made to State Commissione r (NREGS),
Division al Commissioner (NREGS) and State Grievance Redressal Officer.
U> All Appeals shall be made within forty-five days from the date of the
issuance of the order.
(k) All Appeals shall be d isposed off within one month.
(l) There shall be a system of escalation of the grievances registered a t ward/
GP /Block/District level if not resolved within 15 days to the next higher
level; and monitoring the same electronically.
30. Ombudsperson: There shall be an Ombudsperson for each District for receiving
grievances, enquiring into and passing awards as p er guidelines issued .
31. State Government shall coordinate, the activities of Programme Officer, District
Programme Coordinator, Ombudsmen, Social Audits Units, call centres or help Lines,
Vigilance and Monitoring Committees, National Level Monitors, Rozgar . Sahayata
Kendras and any other entity authorised by the appropriate Government for an effec tive
monitoring of the programme and redressal of grievances.
Sch. II] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 31
32. Wherever contravention of the provisions of the Act has been prqved after due
enquiry by the State Govenunen t or the District Prog ramme Coordinator or the
Programme Officer or the Ombudsp erson or any other authority authorized by the State
Government, action in accordance with the provisions of section 25 of the Act shall be
taken .
33. The District Programme Coordina tor, the programme officer and the Gram
Panchayat sh all prepare a report annually containing the facts and figures and
achievements relating to the implementation of the scheme within his or its jmisdiction
and a copy of the same shall be made available to the public on demand on payment of
such fee as may be sp ecified in the Scheme.
34. All accounts and records including muster rolls rela ting to the scheme shall b e
made available for public scrutiny free of cost. Any p erson desirous of obtaining a copy
or relevant ex tracts therefrom may be provided such copies or extracts on demand not
later than three working days from the da te o f receipt of application.
35. There shall be a Capacity Building Plan, Information Education Communication
plan and a plan for strengthening Panchayats as a part of the scheme.]
1 [SCHED ULE II
(See section 5)
CONDITIONS FOR GUARANTEED RURAL EMPLOYMENT UNDER
A SCHEME AND MINIMUM ENTITLEMENTS OF LABOURERS
Job cards:-
1. The adult member of every household residing in any rural area and willing to
do unskilled manual work may submit the names, age and the ad dress of the
household to the Gram Panchayat a t the village level, in whose jurisdiction they
reside, for reg istration of their household for issuan ce of a job card. If the job
seeker is a single woman or disabled person or aged person or released bonded
labour or belonging to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, they must be given
a special job card of a distinct colour which will ensure them a special protection
in providing work, work evaluation and work site facilitates, as the case may be.
2. It shall be the duty of the Gram Panchayat, after making such enquiry, as it deem s
fit, to issue a job card w ithin fifteen days from the d ate of receipt of such
application, containing therein a unique job card number with deta ils of the
registered adult members of the h ousehold, their photos, Bank or Post office
accoun t numbe r, insurance policy number and the Aadhaar nwnbers if any.
3. The job· card issued shall be valid fo r atleast five years after wh ich, it may b e
renewed after due verification .
4. No job card can be cancelled except where it is found to be a duplicate, or if the
entire household has p ermanently migrated to a place outside the Gram
Panchayat and no longer lives in the village.. ·
5. The State Government shall ma ke arrangements for updating the following d etails
in the job card regularly while mentioning the key entitlements under the Act are
clearly listed as follows:-
(i) number of days for which work was demanded;
1. Su bs. by S.O. 19(E), d ated 3rd January, 2014, for Sched11/e II (w.e.f. 3-1-2014). Earlier
Sched11/e II was amended by S.O. 324(E), d a ted 6th March, 2007; by S.O. 802(E), d ate<l 2nd
April, 2008; by S.O. 2188(E), d ated 11th September, 2008; by S.0. 2999(E), dated 31st December,
2008; by S.O. 513(E), da ted 19th February, 2009; by S.O. 2266(E), dated 30th September, 2011;
by S.O. 1022(E), dated 4th May, 2012 (w .e.f. 4-5-2012); by S.O. 2901(E), dated 24th September,
2013.
32 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. II
(ii) number of days of work allocated;
(iii) description of the work allocated along with the muster roll number;
(iv) measurement d etails;
(v) unemployment allowance, if any, paid;
(vi) dates and number of d ays worked;
(vii) date-wise amount of wages paid;
(viii) delay compensation paid if any.
Demand for work:-
6. Every adult member uf <:t registered household whose name appears in the job
card shall be entitled to apply for unskilled manual work under the Scheme; and
every such application shall be compulsorily registered, and a receipt issued with
the d ate, which shall be entered in the computer system.
7. The State shall proactively verify the requirements of the Vulnerable Groups and
provide them work.
8. Application fo r work can be oral or written an d made to the Ward member or to
the Gram Panchayat or to the Programme Officer or any person authorised by the
State Government or through a telephone or mobile or Interactive Voice Response
System or through a call centre or through web site or through a kiosk set up for
this purpose or through any other means authorised by the State Government.
9. Applications for work can be filed individually or for a group together.
10. There shall be no limit on the number of days of employment for which a person
may apply, or on the number of days of employment actually p rovided to him
subject to the aggregate entitlement of the household.
· 11. Normally, applications for work must be for at least fourteen days of continuous
w ork, other than the works relating to access to sanitation facilities, for which
application for work shall be for atleast six days of continuous work.
12. Provision shall be made in the Scheme for ad vance application, that.is, application
which may be submitted earlier than the d ate from which employment is sought.
13. Provision shall be made in the Scheme for submission of multiple applications by
the same p'erson provided t~at the corresponding periods for which employment
is sought do not overlap .
Allocation of work:-
14. The Gram Panchayat and Programme Officer shall ensure that every applicant
shall be provided unskilled manual work in accordance with the provisions of the
Scheme within fifteen days of receipt of an application or the d ate from which he
seeks work in case of advance application, whichever is later.
15. Priority shall be given to women in such a way that at least one-third of the
beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work. Efforts
to increase participation of single women and the disabled shall be made.
16. Applicants who are provided with work shall be so intimated in writing, by
means of a letter sent to him at the address given in the job card or by a public
notice displayed at the office of the Panchayats at district, intermediate or village
level.
17. A list of perSOf'\S who are provided with the work shall be displayed on the notice
board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer and at
such other place as the Prog ramme Officer may deem necessary and the list shall
be open for inspection by the State Government and an y interested person.
Sch. II] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 33
18. As far as possible, the employment shall be provided within a radius of five
kilometres of the village where the applicant resides at the time of applying.
19. A new work under the Scheme can be commenced if atleast ten labourers become
available for work, provided that this condition shall not be applicable for new
works, as determined by the State Government, in hilly areas and in respect of
afforestation works.
20. In case the employment is provided outside the radius specified in Paragraph 18,
it shall be provided within the Block, and the labourers shall be paid ten percent
of the wage rate as extra wages to meet additional transportation and expenses for
living.
21. A period of employment shall be for atleast fourteen days continuously with not
more than six days in a week.
Work site management:-
22. For the purpose of transparency at the work site, the following shall be ensured:-
{i) there shall be a project initiation meeting in which various provisions of the
work shall be explained to the workers;
(ii) a copy of the sanction work order shall be available for public inspection at
the worksite;
(iii) measurement record of each work and details of the workers shall be
available for public inspection;
(iv) a Citizens' Information Board shall be put up at every worksite and updated
regularly in the manner specified by the Central Goverrunent;
(v) The vigilance and Monitoring Committee setup according to the instructions
of the Central Government may check all works and its evaluation report
w ill be recorded in the Works Register in the format specified by the Central
Goverrun ent and submitted to the Gram Sabha during the Social Audit.
'
23. The facilities of safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest, first
aid box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries and
other health hazards connected with the work being performed shall be provided
at the work site.
24. In case the number of children below the age of five years accompanying the
women working at any site is five or more, provisions shall be made to depute
one of such women workers to look after such children. The person so deputed
shall be paid wage rate. The most marginalized women in the locality, women in
exploitative conditions or bonded labour or those vulnerable to being trafficked or
liberated manual scavengers should be employed for providing child care
services.
Welfare:
25. If any personal injury is caused to any person employed under the Scheme by any
accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, he shall be entitled
to such medical treatment as required, free of cost.
26. ·Where hospitalisation of the injured worker is necessary, the State Government
shall arrange for such hospitalisation including accommodation, treatment,
medicines and payment of daily allowance which is not less than half of the wage
rate.
27. If a person employed under the Scheme meets with death or becomes
permanently disabled by accident arising out of and in the course of employment,
he or his legal heirs, as the case may be, shall be paid by the implementing agency
 34 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 [Sch. II
an ex grntia as p er entitlements under the Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana or as may be
notified by the Central Government.
28. If any p ersonal injury is caused by accident to a child accompanying a person who
is employed under the Scheme, such person shall be entitled to medical treatment
free of cost; and in case of death or disablement of the child due to the said
accident, ex grntia shall be paid to the legal guardians as determined by the State
Government.
Wage payment:-
29. (1) In case the payment of wages is not made within fifteen days from the date
of closure of the muster roll, the wage seekers shall be entitled to receive p aym ent
of compensation for the delay, at the rate of 0.05% of the unpaid wages per day
of delay beyond the sixteenth day of closure of muster roll.
(a) Any delay in payment of compensation beyond a period of fifteen days from
the date it becomes payable, shall be considered in the same maimer as the
delay in payment of wages.
(b) For the purpose of ensuring accountability in payment of wages and to
~, calculate culpability of various functionaries or agencies, the States shall
divide the processes leading to determination and payment of wages into
various stages such as-
i. measurement of work;
ii. computerising the muster rolls;
iii. computerising the measurements;
iv . generation of wage lists; and
v. uploading Fund Transfer Orders (FTOs},
and specify stage-wise maximum time limits along with the functionary or
agency which is responsible for discharging the specific function.
(c) The computer system shall have a provision to automatically calculate the
compensation payable based on the d ate of closure of the muster roll and the
date of deposit of wages in the accounts of the wage seekers.
(d) The State Government shall pay the compensation upfront after due
verification within the time limits as specified above and recover the
compensation amount from the furn;:tionaries or agencies who is responsi)Jle
for the delay in payment.
(e) It shall be the duty of that Dis trict Programme Coordinator or Programme
Officer to ensure that the system is operationalised.
(f) The number of days of dela'y , the compensation payable and actually paid
shall be reflected in the Monitoring and Information System and the Labour
Budget.
(2) Effective implementation of sub-paragraph (1) shall be considered necessary
for the purposes of the section 27 of the Act.
30. The p ayment of wages shall, unless so exempted by the Central Government, be
made through the individual savings accounts of the workers in the relevant
Banks or Post Offices.
31. In case of employment provided under the Schem e, there shall be no
discrimination solely on the ground of gender and the provisions of the Equal
Remuneration Act, 1976 (25 of 1976), shall be complied with.
 -
Sch. II] The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 35
Record maintenance and grievance redressal system:-
32. The Gram Panchayat shall prepare and maintain or cause to be prepared and
maintained such registers, vouchers and other documents in such form and in
such maimer as may be specified in the Scheme containing particulars of job cards
and pass books issued, name, age and address of the head of the household and
the adult members of the households registered with the Gram Panchayat.
33. The Gram Panchayat shall send such list or lists of the names and addresses of
households and their adult members registered with it and supply such other
information to the concerned Programme Officer at such periods and in such form
as may be specified in the Scheme.
34. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Schedule, in the event of any
national calamity such as flood, cyclone, tsunami and earthquake resulting inmass
dislocation of rural population, the adult members of rural households of areas so
affected may-
(a) seek for registration and get job ca rd issued by the Gram Panchayat or
Programme Officer of the area of temporary relocation;
(b) submit written or oral applications for work to the Programme Officer or the
Gram Panchayat of the area of temporary relocation; and
(c) apply for re-registration and re-issuance of job card in the event ot any loss
or desh·uction.
(2) The details of such job cards shall be intimated to the District Programme
Coordinator.
(3) In the event of restoration of normalcy, the job card so issued shall be re-
endorsed at original place of habitation and clubbed with the original job card on
being retrieved.
(4) The number of days of employment so provided shall be counted wh ile
computing 100 days of guaranteed employment p er household.
35. Every worker shall have an opporttmity of being heard and register any grievance
either orally or in writing, at all implem entation levels for disposal as per the
provisions of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism under the scheme.]
 THE NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT
GUARANTEE (CENTRAL COUNCIL)
RULES, 20061
Whereas the draft of certain rules to be called the National Rural Employment
Guarantee (Central Council) Rules, 2006 were published, in exercise of the powers
conferred by sub-section (1) read with clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (2) of section 31
of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005), vide notification
of the Government of India in the Ministry of Rural Development (Department of Rural
Development) number G.S.R. 175(E), dated the 21st March, 2006 in the Gazette of India,
Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub-section (i), dated the 23rd March, 2006 inviting
objections and suggestions from persons likely to be affected thereby before the expiry of
a period of thirty days from the date of publication of the said notification in the Official
Gazette;
And whereas the copies of the Gazette containing the said notification were made
available to the public on the 23rd March, 2006;
And whereas no objections or suggestions on the said draft rules were received by the
Central Government;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1), read with
clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (2) of section 31 of the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005), the Central Government hereby makes the following
rules, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.- (1) These rules may be called the
National Rural Employment Guarantee (Central Council) Rules, 2006.
(2) They shall come into force from the date 2 of their publication in the
Official Gazette.
2. Definitions.-In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires, -
(a) "Act" means the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
(42 of 2005);
(b) "Central Council" means the Central Employment Guarantee Council
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 10;
(c) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Central Council;
(d) "District Panchayat" means an institution (by whatever name called)
of self-government constituted under Article 243B of the
Constitution, for the rural areas a t the district levels in accordance
with the provisions of Pa.r t IX of the Constitution;
(e) "Executive Committee" means the Executive Committee of the
Central Council constituted under sub-rule (1) of rule 9;
(f) "Member-Secretary" means the Member-Secretary of the Central
Council;
(g) "~ection" means a section of the Act;

1. Vide G.S.R. 31 l(E), dated 25th May, 2006, published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Pt. II,
Sec. 3(i), dated 25th May, 2006.
2. Came into force on 25-5-2006.
36
Rule 3) The National Rural Employment Guarantee 37
(Central Council) Rules, 2006
(h) "Scheme" means a scheme notified by a State Government under
sub-section (1) of section 4;
(i) "Technical Secretariat" means the Technical Secretariat of the Central
Council;
(j) words and expressions used but not defined in these rules shall have
the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Act.
3. The Central Council.-(1) Subject to the provisions ~f sub-rule (2), the
Central Council constituted under sub-section (1) of section 10 shall consist of the
following, namely:-
(a) Union Minister for Rural Development ......... Chairperson, ex officio;
(b) (i) Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Rural
Development-member-ex officio;
(ii) a nominee of the Ministry of Women and Child Development not
below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of
India ..........member;
(iii) a nominee of the Ministry of Agriculture not below the rank of
Joint Secretary to the Government of India .......... member;
(iv) a nominee of the Ministry of Environment and Forest not below
the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of
India.......... member;
(v) a nominee of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme ,, .
Implementation not below the rank of Joint Secretary to the /
Government of India ..........member;
(vi) a nominee of the Ministry of Panchayat Raj not below the r:ank of ,
Joint Secretary to the Government of India ..........member;
(vii) a nominee of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs not below the rank of
Joint Secretary to the Government of India .......... member;
(viii) a nominee of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment not
below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of
India.......... member;
(ix) one representative of Planning Commission not below the rank of
Advisor in the Planning Comrnission..........member;
1[(x) one representative of the Prime Minister's Office not below the

rank of Joint Secretary ..................member;]

1[(xi) one representative of the Ministry of Law and Justice not below

the rank of Joint Secretary.................. member;]

1[(xii) one representative of the Ministry of Labour and Employment

not below the rank of Joint Secretary.................. member;] ·

(c) six representatives of the department of rural development of the
State Governments who shall not be below the rank of Secretary to
the concerned State Government to be nominated by the Central
Government.......... members;
(d) twelve members to be nominated by the Central Government from
Panchayati Raj Institutions, organisations of workers and
disadvantaged groups, of whom four shall be women, and shall
include-
(i) two representatives to be nominated by the Central Government
from the Scheduled Caste, one representative each from
Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and minorities;
1. Ins. by G.S.R 309(E), dated 5th May, 2009 (w.e.f. 5-5-2009).
38 The National Rural Employment Guarantee (Rule 3
(Central Council) Rules, 2006
(ii) Chairpersons of two District Panchayats nominated by the
Central Government by rotation for a period of one year at a time;
1[(e) eight members representing the States to be nominated by the Central

Govenunent of whom- ·
(i) on.e shall be an expert in areas of works such as water
conservation, land development, afforestation and plantation and
rural engineering and any other work, listed or notified under
Schedule I of the Act;
(ii) one shall be an expert in social audit;
(iii) one shall be an expert in wage employment;
(iv) one shall be an expert in print or electronic media;
(v) one shall be an expert in climate change;
(vi) one shall be an expert in convergence;
(vii) one shall be an expert in law; and
(viii) one shall be an expert in communication and information
technology;]
(f) Joint Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Rural
Development in charge of the National Rural Employment
Act, 2005 .......... Member-Secretary.
(2) Not less than one-third of the total number of non-official members of
the Central Council shall be women.
4. Terms .and conditions of appointment of Members.- (1) The members
representing the Ministries or Dep ar tments of the Government of India shall hold
their offices as long as they are serving in their respective Ministries or
Departments or till the concerned Ministry or Department nominates any other
officer.
(2) The term of office of the official members representing the State
Governments shall be for a period of one year.
2 [(3) Every non-official member of Central Council nominated under sub-
clause (i) of clause (d) and clause (e) of sub-rule (1) of rule 3 shall hold his office
for a term of one year at a time from the date of p ublication of hfs appointment
in the Official Gazette.
(4) The non-official members nominated under sub-clause (i) of clause (d)
and clause (e) of s ub-rule (1) of rule 3 shall be eligible for re-nomination:
Provided that no person referred to in this sub-rule and in sub-rule (3) shall
hold office for more than three years in .any case.]

1. Subs. by G.S.R. 309(E), dated 5th May, 2009, for cla use (e) (w.e.f. 5-5-2009). Clause (e), before
substitution, stood as under:
"(e) three members representing the States to be nominated by the Central Government of
whom-
(i) one shall be an expert i11 any of the areas of works, such as water conservation, hmd
developmen t, afforestation and plantation and rural engineering, listed or notified
lUider Schedule I of the Act;
(ii) one shall be an expert in social audit; and
(iii) one shall be an expert on wage employment;".
2. Subs. by G.S.R. 309(E), dated 5th May, 2009, for sub-rules (3) and (4) (w.e.f. 5-5-2009). Sub-rules
(3) and (4), before substitution, stood as under:
"(3) TI1e term of office of the non-official members nominated lU1der clause (d) of sub-
rule (1) of rule 3 shall be appointed for a period of one year.
(4) A non-official member nominated under clause (e) of sub-rule (1) shall be appointed
for a period of two years or till any other member is appointed in his place takes charge,
whichever is earlier.".
Rule 7) The National Rural Employment Guarantee 39
, (Central Council) Rules, 2006
(S) The non-official members nominated under clauses (d) and (e) of sub-
rule (1) shall be entitled to receive travelling allowan ce and dearness allowance
for attending the meetings of the Central Council or the Executive.Committee, as
the case may be, at the rates admissible to the Central Government servants of
the highest grade.
(6) The non-official members shall also be entitled to receive honorarium at
the rate of one thousand rupees per day for the days of the meeting of the Central
Council or its Executive Committee or any other official work for which they
attend to at the headquarters at N ew Delhi or at any other place on invita tion by
the Central Council.
5. Resignation, etc. of non-official members.- (1) Any non-official member
may,-
(a) by writing under his hand addressed to the Chairperson resign his
office at any time;
(b) be removed from his office in case he incurs any disqualification
mentioned in sub-rule (2).
(2) The Central Government may, remove from office a non-official member
if he,-
(i) has been adjudged as an insolvent; or
(ii) has been convicted of an offence which, in the opinion of the Central
Government, involves moral turpitude; or
(iii) has become physically or mentally incapable of acting as a member;
or
(iv) has acquired such financial or o ther interest as is likely to affect
prejudicially his functions as a member; or
(v) has so abused his position as to render his continuance in office
prejudicial to the public interest; or
(vi) remains absent for three consecutive meetings of the Central Cow1cil
except for reasons beyond his control or without permission of the
Chairperson.
(3) Any vacancy caused in the Central Council due to resignation, death,
removal or otherwise of a non-official member shall be filled from the same
category to which such member was representing and the person newly
nominated shall hold office so long as the member whose place he fills would
have been entitled to hold office, if the vacancy h ad not occurred.
6. Meetings of the Central Council and its quorum.- (1) The Central
Council shall meet at least two times in a year or more frequently as it may
consider necessary, at such place arid at such time, as may be decided upon by
the Chairperson:
Provided that six months shall not intervene between two consecutive
meetings of the Central Council.
(2) The Chairperson shall preside at every meeting of the Central Council at
which he is present, and in his absence, the Secretary to the Government of India,
Department of Rural Development shall preside.
(3) Not less than one-third of the members shall constitute the quorum for
the meetings of the Central Council.
7. Procedure of the meetings.-(1) The Member-Secretary shall give at least
fourteen clear days notice for a meeting of the Cen.tra l Council, giving therein the
date, time and place of the meeting.
(2) If the quorum in the meeting is no t present, the Chairperson may
postpone the meeting to ano ther date and the Chairperson and the members
present at the postponed meeting shall constitute the quorum.
40 The National Rural Employment .Guarantee [Rule 7
(Central Council) Rules, 2006
(3) Every question brought before any meeting of the Central Council shall
be d ecided upon by a majority of the members present and voting at the meeting
before which the matter is brought and no member shall be allowed to vote by
proxy.
(4) In the case of an equality of votes on an y resolution or question, the
Chairperson shall have a casting or a second vote.
(5) The Member-Secretary shall, within thirty days of a meeting, circulate the
minutes of that m eeting duly approved by the Chairperson.
8. Functions of the Central Council.- (1) The Central Council shall perform
the duties and discharge the functions assigned to it under section 11.
(2) The Central Council may, subject to such control and directions, authorise
the Member-Secretary to d eal with such financial and administrative matters for
the day-to-day functioning.
(3) The Central Council shall lay d own the systems and procedures for
maintenance of its accounts and other records.
(4) The Member-Secretary shall be responsible for the custody and
maintenance of the minutes book and other records of the Central Council and
those of the Executive Committee.
9. Executive Committee.-(1) The Central Council shall constitute a
Committee to be called the Executive Committee to assist it to discharge the
duties and perform the functions assigned to it.
(2) The Executive Committee constituted under sub-rule (1) shall consist of
the following, namely:-
(i) Secretary to the Government of India, Department of President;
Rural Development.
(ii) The Financial Advisor, Ministry of Rural Development; Members;
representative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj and , .
two Members who are Secretaries of State Governments
nomina ted by the Chairperson of the Executive
Committee.
(iii) Four non-official members of the Central Council Members.
"to be nominated by the Chairperson of the Central
Council.
(3) The Member-Secretary shall be the Member-Secretary of the Executive
Committee.
10. Fu nctions of the Executive Committee.- (1) Subject to the general
superintendence and directions of the Central Council, the Executive Committee
shall perform the following duties and functions, namely:-
(a) take steps to give effect to the decisions of the Central Council;
(b) manage the administrative and financial affairs of the Central
Council;
(c) sanction expenditure in connection with the affairs of the Central
Council;
(d) appoint expert groups for technical support and advice to improve
the quality of implementation of the Act;
(e) exercise such powers and performs such functions as may be
entrusted to it by the Central Council.
(2) The Executive Committee shall meet at least once in three months or
more frequently, if required by the Central Council.
11. Technical Secretariat.- (1) The Central Council and the Executive
Committee shall be assisted by a Technical Secretariat, which may be set up by
the Central Government in accordance with these rules to provide logistic and
technical support for the implementation of the provisions of the Act.
Rule 12] The National Rural Employment Guarantee 41
(Central Council) Rules, 2006
(2) The Technical Secretariat shall be headed by the Member-Secretary and
persons of professional services enlisted on the basis of procedures, norms and
terms decided by the Executive Committee.
(3) The persons of professional services engaged for the Technical Secretariat
shall pertain to services in functional areas specified in section 11.
12. Funds of the Central Council.-(1) The Central Council shall meet its
expenses in connection with its affairs and the functions entrusted to it under the
Act or these rules from the annual grants released to it by the Ministry of Rural
Development out of the National Employment Guarantee Fund.
(2) The funds of the Central Council shall be operated through a scheduled
bank as approved by the Central Council.
 THE NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE
FUND RULES, 20061
WHEREAS certain draft rules namely, the National Employment Guarantee Fund
Rules, 2006, were published in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read
with clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 31 of tlte National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005), vide notification of the Government of India in the
Ministry of Rural Development number G.S.R. 590(E), dated the 21st September, 2006
in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub-section (i), dated the 22nd
September, 2006 inviting objections and suggestions from persons likely to be affected
thereby before the expiry of a period of thirty days from the date of publication of tlte
notification in the Official Gazette;
AND WHEREAS Gazette copies of the draft rules in which they were published were
made available to the public on 22nd September, 2006;
AND WHEREAS no objection or suggestion has been received from any person in this
regard.
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) read
with clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 31 of the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005), the Central Government hereby m akes the
following rules, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.- These rules may be called the National
Employment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2006.
(2) They shall come into force on the date 2 of their publication in the Official
Gazette.
2. Definitions.-In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,-
/1 11
(a) Act means the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005
(42 of 2005); ·
(b) "Central Government" means Central Government in the Ministry of
Rural Development; ·
(c) "National Fund" means the National Employment Guarantee Fund
established under sub-section (1) of section 20;
(d) all other words and expressions used herein and not defined but
defined in the Act shall have the meanings respectively assigned to
them in the Act.
·3. Account of the National Fund.- The National Fund shall be maintained
by the Central Government in a Public Account.
4. Usage of the National Fund.- The National Fund shall be used by the
Central Government to meet the Central Government share of expenditure on
implementation of the Act including the grant~ to the State Goverrnnents and
Union territories and the expenses of the Central Employment Guarantee
Council.
1. Vide G.S.R. 3(E), dated 2nd January, 2007, published in the Gazette of India, Extra., Pt. ll,
Sec. 3(i), dated 3rd January, 2007.
2. Came into force on 3-1-2007.
42
 Rule 6) The National Emplor.ment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2006 43

5. Release of grants from the Fund to the State Governments and Union
Territory Administrations.-(1) Before the beginning of each financial year on or
before 31st January, all Secretaries of the State Governments and Union
~ territories concerned with the implementation of the Act and the State
Employment Guarantee Schemes shall present their annu al work plan and
labour budget to the Ministry of Rural D evelopment.
(2) The State Governments and Union territories may also in their annual
work plan and labour budget submit proposals for any work other than those
specified in Schedule I of the Act
(3) The Ministry of Rural Development may examine the proposals received
by it on or before the 31st of January of each financial year and review the
performance of the States and Union territories with respect to the
imple111entation of the Act and estimate the amount to be released to the State
Governments and Union Territory Administrations from the National Fund.
(4) Release of funds to the State Governments and Union Territory
Administrations sh all be made .in accordance with the directions issued by the
Ministry of Rural Development from time to time.
(5) The Ministry of Rural Development may, in order to meet emergent
needs and to meet the temporary shortage of funds on account of non-
completion of prescribed formalities, give advances as it may consider necessary
to the districts, States and Union territories pending regular release of ftmds and
such advances shall be adjusted against regular releases.
(6) The sanctioned amount may be released directly from the National
Employment Guarantee Fund to the State Employment Guarantee Fund under
sub-section (1) of section 21.
(7) The rules for State Employment Gu arantee Fund and the fund-flow from
State Employment Guarantee Fund to the Districts, Block and Gram Panchayat
may be notified by the concerned State Government.
(8) The State Employment Guarantee Fund shall be maintained in a separate
bank accomlt which shall be non-lapsable.
(9) The State Employment or any other authority shall not create any
encumbrance on the grants released by the Ministry either through the State
Employm ent Guarantee Fund or directly to the d istricts or any other agency.
(10) The sanctioned amotmt may also be relt:~ased directly from the National
Fmld to a separate bank account at the district level for the implementation of ·
the Act, which sh all be non-lapsable.
(11) The decision in regard to release of funds shall be taken by the Ministry
of Rural Development in consultation with the concerned State Government and
Union territory.
6. Release of grants from the National Fund to the Central Employment
Guarantee Council.-(1) The Central Employment Guarantee Council shall be
given a grant every year w ith an initial corpus of five crores of rupees in order
to meet the expenses in connection w ith the functions assigned to the Council.
(2) The Council shall maintain a bank account in a Scheduled Bank for the
funds so given.
44 The National Employment Guarantee Fund Rules, 2006 [Rule 6

(3) The grants sh all be given to the Council after audit report for the previous
year and the utilization certificate for at least sixty per cent. of the amount
already released are furnished.
1 (7. Contribution to National Fund for implementation of Schemes.-The
Central Government shall contribute to the National Ftmd such sum of money
as considered necessary for the implementation of the Schemes.]
8. Audit.-The grants released from the National Fw1d to the State
Governments and Union Territory Administrations shall be audited by the
Comptroller and Auditor-General through respective Accountant-Generals. The
internal audit shall be done on behalf of the Head of the Department (Secretary)
to the Government of India and shall be supervised and monitored by the office
of Chief Controller of Accounts.

1. Subs. by G.S.R.° 27(E), dated 12th January, 2012, for rule 7 (w.e.f. 17-1-2012). Rule 7, before
substitution, stood as under:
"7. Balance budgeted grant.-The balance budgeted grant of each financial year shall be
transferred to the National Fund before the close of the financial year and shall constitute
the reserve in the National Fund .".
 THE MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE AUDIT OF
SCHEMES RULES, 20111
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 24 of the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005), the Central
Government, in consultation with the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, hereby
makes the following rnles, namely:-
1. Short title and commencement.-(1) These rules may be called the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Audit of Schemes
Rules, 2011.
(2) For the purposes of these rules, audit of schemes shall include social audit.
(3) They shall come into force on the date2 of their publication in the Official
Gazette.
2. Audit of accounts.-(1) The audit of the accounts of a scheme under the Act
for each district as well as of the State Employment Guarantee Fund shall, for each
year, be carried out by the Director, Local Fund Audit or equivalent authority or
by Chartered Accountants.
(2) The Director, Local Fund Audit, or equivalent authority, or the Chartered
Accountant, as the case may be, shall submit accounts of the scheme together with
the audit report thereon to the State Government.
(3) The accounts of the schemes of every State Government as certified together
with the audit report thereon shall be forwarded to the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India and the Central Government by the State Government. The Central
Government shall cause the audit report to be laid, as soon as may be after they
are received, before each House of Parliament.
(4) The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, or any person appointed by
him in this behalf, shall have the right to conduct audit of the accounts of schemes
at such intervals as he may deem fit.
3. Social audit to be part of audit of schemes.- (1) The State Government shall
facilitate conduct of social audit of the works taken up w1der the Act in every Gram
Panchayat a t least once in six months in the manner prescribed under these rules.
(2) A summary of findings of such social audits conducted during a financia l
year shall be submitted by the State Government to the Comptroller and Auditor
General of India.
4. Social audit facilitation.-(1) The State Government shall identify or
establish, under the Act, an independent organisation (hereinafter referred to as
Social Audit Unit) to facilitate conduct of social audit by Gram Sabhas.

1. Vide G.S.R. 495(E), dated 30th June, 2011, published in the Gazette of India, Extra.,
Pt. II, Sec. 3(i), dated 30th June, 2011.
2. Came into force on 30-6-2011.
45
46 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee [Rule 4
Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011
(2) The Social Audit Unit shall be responsible for the following, namely:- _
(a) build capacities of Gram Sabhas for conducting social audit; and
towards this purpose, identify, train and deploy suitable resource
persons at village, block, district and state level, drawing from primary
stakeholders and other civil society organisations having knowledge
and experience of working for the rights of the people;
(b) prepare social audit reporting formats, resource material, guidelines
and manuals for the social audit process;
(c) create awareness amongst the labourers about their rights and
entitlements under the Act;
(d) facilitate verification of records with primary stakeholders and work
sites;
(e) facilitate smooth conduct of social audit Gram Sabhas for reading out
and finalising decisions after due discussions;
' (D host the social audit reports including action taken reports in the
"'.public domain.
5. Social audit pre-requisites.-(1) The Social Audit shall be a process
independent of any process undertaken by the implementing agency of the scheme.
(2) The implementing agency shall at no time interfere with the conduct of
social audit.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2), the implementing
agency of the Scheme shall provide requisite information to the Programme Officer
for making it available to Social Audit Unit at least fifteen days prior to the date
of commencement of the social audit.
(4) The resource persons deployed for facilitating social audit in .a Panchayat
shall not be residents of the same Panchayat.
6. Process for conducting social audit.- (1) The Social Audit Unit shall, at the
begitming of the year, frame an a1mual calendar to conduct at least one social
audit in each Gram Panchayat every six months and"a copy of the calendar shall
be sent to all the District Programme Coordinators for making necessary
arrangements.
(2) For facilitating conduct of social audit by Gram S_abha, the resource persons
deployed by Social Audit Unit, along with primary stakeholders shall verify ·_
(i) the muster rolls, entry and payments made in the specified time period,
by contacting the wage seekers whose names are entered in such
muster rolls; r
(ii) the work site and assess the quantity with reference to records and also
quality of work done;
(iii) the cash book, bank statements and other financial records to verify the
correctness and reliability of financial reporting;
(iv) the invoices, bills, vouchers or other related records used for
procurement of materials to testify such procurement was as per the
estimate, as per procedure laid down and was economical;
Rule 7) The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee 47
Audit of Schemes Rules, 20 11
(v) any other payment made by the implementing agency from the funds
of the scheme.
(3) The labourers and the village community shall be informed about the Gram
Sabha conducting social audit by the resource persons as well as the Programme
Officer to ensure full participation.
(4) To conduct social audit process, a Gram Sabha shall be convened to
discuss the findings of the verification exercise and also to review the compliance
on transparency and accountability, fulfilment of the rights and entitlements of
labourers and proper utilisation of funds.
(5) All elected members of Panchayats and staff involved in implementing the
schemes under the Act (including the staff of the Non-Governmental
Organisations, the Self Help Groups, and disbursing agencies) shall be present at
the Gram Sabha and respond to queries.
(6) he Gram Sabha shall provide a platform to all villagers to seek and obtain
further information and responses from all involved in the implementation. It will
also provide a platform to any person who has any contribution to make and
relevant information to present.
(7) The District Programme Coordinator shall attend the Gram Sabha meeting
or nominate an official of appropriate level for smooth conduct of the Gram Sabha.
(8) The social audit reports shall be prepared in local language by the Social
Audit Unit and displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat. ·
(9) he action taken report relating to the previous social audit shall be read out
at the beginning of the meeting of each social audit.
7. Obligation of certain persons in relation to social audit.-(1) The
Programme Officer shall ensure that all the required information and records of all
implementing agencies such as, Job card register, Employment register, Work
Register, Gram Sabha Resolution, Copies of the sanctions (Administrative or
Technical or Financial), Work Estimates, Work Commencement Order, muster-roll
issue and receipt register, muster Rolls, Wage Payment Acquittance & order,
Materials - Bills and vouchers (for each work), Measurement Books (for each work),
Asset Register, Action Taken Report on previous social audits, grievance or
complaints register, any other documents that the Social Audit Unit requires to
conduct the social audit process are properly collated in the requisite formats; and
provided, along with photocopies, to the Social Audit Unit for facilitating conduct
of social audit at least fifteen days in advance of the scheduled date of meeting of
the Gram Sabha conducting social audit.
(2) The information referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be publically available at
the same time and the photocopies shall be available at nominal cost.
(3) Every District Programme Coordinator or any official on his behalf, shall,-
(a) ensure that all records for conduct of social audit are furnished to the
Social Audit Unit by implementing agencies through the Programme
Officer;
(b) ensure that corrective action is taken on the social audit report;
48 The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee [Rule 7
Audit of Schemes Rules, 2011
(c) take steps to recover the amount embezzled or improperly utilised; and
issue receipts or acknowledgement for amount so recovered;
(d) pay wages found to be misappropriated, within seven days of the
recovery of such amount, to the wage seekers;
(e) maintain a separate account for amounts recovered during the social
audit process;
(f) ensure that the appropriate action (including initiating criminal and
civil proceedings or termination of services) is initiated against
individual or class of individuals or persons w ho misutilised or
embezzled the amount meant for the schemes under the Act.
(4) The State Government shall be responsible to take follow up action on the
findings of the social audit.
(5) The State Employment Guarantee Council shall monitor the action taken
by the State Government and incorporate the Action Taken Report in the annual
report to be laid before the State Legislature by the State Government.
. (6) The costs of establishing the Social Audit Unit and conducting social Audit
shall be met by the Central Government as a central assistance in accordance with
the instructions issued in this regard.
 NOTIFICATION
REGARDING THE WAGE RATES PAYABLE TO THE UNSKILLED
MANUAL WORKERS IN DIFFERENT STATES AND
UNION TERRITORIES 1
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 6 of the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (42 of 2005),
and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry
of Rural Development, number S.O. 578(E), dated the 23rd March, 2012, except as
respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central
Government hereby specifies the wage rnte payable to the unskilled manual
workers under column (3), in respect of the State or the Union territory mentioned
in colunm (2), of the Schedule given below, working on various schemes under the
said Act, with effect from 1st day of the April, 2013, namely:-
2[SCHEDULE
State-wise Wage rate for Unskilled Manual Workers
(Rupees per Day)
SL No. Name of State/Union territory Wage rate in Rupees per day
(1) (2) (3)
1. Andhra Pradesh Rs. 197.00
2. Arunachal Pradesh Rs. 177.00
3. Assam Rs. 183.00
4. Bihar Rs. 168.00
5. Chhattisgarh Rs. 172.00
6. Goa Rs. 240.00
7. Gujarat Rs. 192.00
8. Haryana Rs. 277.00
9. Himachal Pradesh Non-scheduled Areas-Rs. 179.00
Scheduled Areas-Rs. 224.00
10. Jammu and Kashmir Rs. 179.00
11. Jharkhand Rs. 168.00
12. Karnataka Rs. 236.00
13. Kera la Rs. 258.00
14. Madhya Pradesh Rs. 172.00
15. Maharashtra Rs. 201.00
16. Manipur Rs. 204.00

1. Virfe S.O. 463(E}, dated 26th February, 2013, published in the Gazette of India, Extra.,
Pt. JJ, Sec. 3(ii), No. 427, dated 26th February, 2013.
2. Subs. by S.O. 666(E), dated 28th February, 2017, for SCHEDULE (w.e.f. 1-4-2017). Earlier
Schedule was amended by S.O. 400(E), dated 13th February, 2014, by S.0. 2118(E),
dated 22nd August, 2014, by S.O. 890(E), dated 31st March, 2015 (w.e.f. 1-4-2015) and
by S.0. 1205(E), dated 23rd March, 2016 (w.e.f. 1-4-2016).
49
50 Notification /

(1) (2) (3)

17. Meghalaya Rs. 175.00
18. Mizoram Rs. 194.00
19. Nagaland Rs. 177.00
20. Odisha Rs. 176.00
21. Punjab Rs. 233.00
22. Rajas than Rs. 192.00 ~
,

23. Sikkim Rs. 177.00

24. Tamil Nadu Rs. 205.00
25. Telangana ~
Rs. 197.00
26. Tripura Rs. 177.00
27. Uttar Pradesh Rs. 175.00
28. Uttarakhand Rs. 175.00
29. West Bengal Rs. 180.00
30. Andaman and Nicobar Andaman District
Rs. 236.00
Nicobar District
Rs. 249.00
31. Chandigarh Rs. 265.00
32. Dadra and Nagar Haveli Rs. 218.00
33. Daman and Diu Rs. 195.00
34. Lakshadweep Rs. 237.00
35. Puducherry Rs. 205.00]

• ••