mahatma gandhi national rural employment guarantee act, 2005
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) "adult" means a person who has completed his eighteenth years of age;
(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;
(d) "Central Council" means the Central Employment Guarantee Council constituted under subsection
(1) of section 10;
(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 dev
(1) For the purposes of giving effect to the
provisions of section 3, every State Government shall, within six months 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 under 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 such Scheme is notified by the State Government, the Annual Action Plan or
Perspective Plan for the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar 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.
(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.
(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 at 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.
(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 unemployment 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 unemployment 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:
(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 notice board and the notice board of the Gram Panchayat
and such other conspicuous places as he may deem necessary.
(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 along with
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 household as expeditiously as possible.
An applicant
who--
(a) does not accept the employment provided to his household under a Scheme; or
(b) does not report for work within 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.
(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.
(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 m
(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 and redressal mechanism from time to time and recommend
improvements required;
(d) promote the widest possible dissemination of information about the Schemes made under this
Act;
(e) monitorin
(1) For the purposes of regular monitoring and
reviewing the implementation of this Act at the State level, every State Government shall constitute a
State 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, organisations 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.
(1) The Panchayats at
district, intermediate and village levels shall be the principal authorities for planning and implementation
of the Schemes made under this Act.
(2) The functions of the Panchayats at the district level shall be--
(a) to finalise and approve blockwise shelf of projects to be taken up under a programme under
the Scheme;
(b) to supervise and monitor the projects taken up at the Block level and district level; and
(c) to carry out such other functions as may be assigned to it by the State Council, from time to
time.
(3)
(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 decide shall be designated 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 in discharging its functions under this Act and any scheme
made thereunder;
(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 th
(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 per 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 within 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 development projects including the order
of priority between different works to the Prog
(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 available all relevant documents including the muster rolls, bills,
vouchers, measurement books, copies of sanction orders and other connected books of account and papers
to the Gram Sabha for the purpose of conducting the social audit.
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.
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.
(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 way 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.
(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 administrative 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 manner
and by such authority as may be prescribed by the State Government.
(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 payment 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 expense
(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 Schemes 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 allowance
(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
Whoever contravenes the provisions of this Act shall on
conviction be liable to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees.
(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
(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 facie 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
appropriate remedial measures for its proper implementation within a reasonable period of time.
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
unskilled manual work to rural households consistent with the provisions of this Act under 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:
Provided further that in such cases the financial assistance shall be paid to the concerned State
Government in such manner as shall be determined by the Central G
(1) If the Central Government is satisfied 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.
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
(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 power, 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 time, place and procedure of the meetings (including the quorum
at such meetings) of the Central Council, under sub-section (4) of section 10;
(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.
(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;
(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 annulment shall be without
prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under 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
(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 with 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 made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each
House of Parliament.
(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 date2
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
period of five years from the date of enactment of this Act
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