As of July 16, 2025, the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have pending liabilities worth over Rs 274 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), according to data tabled in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of Rural Development, Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday.
Jammu & Kashmir alone accounts for 272.60 crore in unpaid dues, while Ladakh has 1.75 crore pending, the government informed the House in response to a question by MPs E Tukaram and Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
The liabilities include both wage and material components, with payments under the material component routed via state governments to respective districts.
The Ministry said that MGNREGS is a demand-driven wage employment scheme, and fund releases are an ongoing process based on labour budgets, work demand, utilization pace, and prior liabilities.
“Wages under the scheme are paid through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanism directly into the accounts of registered workers. However, wage payment sanctions are issued daily via the Public Finance Management System (PFMS), depending on fund transfer orders initiated by the States or UTs,” it reads.
The government acknowledged that delays in fund disbursal can affect implementation of works and timely wage payments, indirectly impacting rural employment and livelihood security.
The Central Government stated that it bears 100% of the wage and administrative costs and 75% of the material costs under MGNREGS, with the remaining 25% of material expenditure shared by the respective States or UTs.
While no specific corrective steps exclusive to the two UTs were mentioned, the Ministry said that it remains committed to ensuring timely fund availability for uninterrupted execution of rural employment works across the country—(KNO)
