Lucknow: In a clear indication of a consistent and sharp decline in the dependency of the rural poor on the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGS) in UP, the number of households engaged under the Centre’s scheme dropped by almost 31% over a span of 5 years.Rural development department data show that the number of households covered in the scheme, guaranteeing 100 days of employment, declined from 77.6 lakh in 2021-22 to 53 lakh in the ongoing fiscal, a drop of nearly one-third over this period.The decline was sharpest between 2024-25 and 2025-26, when the number plunged by about 19% from 65.7 lakh to 53 lakh (as on March 9, 2026).In terms of individuals, the figure came down from around 95.4 lakh in 2021-22 to 61.3 lakh, a decline of over 35% in five years. Between 2024-25 and 2025-26, the number of individuals engaged in the scheme slipped from 75.8 lakh to 61.3 lakh, a drop of 19%.The decline over the years (see table) came despite an increase in MNREGS wages from Rs 203 per day in 2021-22 to Rs 252 daily in 2025-26.This is expected to go up by around 10% in 2026-27, when Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB-G-RAM-G) comes into effect, replacing MNREGS. The new scheme promises 125 days of employment. Experts said that the MNREGS demand peaked during and immediately after the pandemic, when millions of migrant workers returned to villages. As the situation attained normalcy, migration to cities and industrial clusters resumed because wages in the construction, farm and manufacturing sectors were reportedly higher than under MNREGS. Besides, self-help group (SHG) livelihood programmes, agriculture and allied activities (like dairy, poultry and fisheries), and rural entrepreneurship schemes offered better wages and year-round work to the rural poor.Another factor that contributed to the reduced number of poor people opting for MNREGS was delayed wage payments, work availability constraints, and the Centre’s budget ceilings.The fall in MNREGS participation, experts said, reflected a combination of post-pandemic economic recovery and structural changes in rural employment.
