Record 57% MNREGS funds spent on agri activities in UP
Lucknow: The utilisation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) funds on agriculture and allied activities reached an all-time high of more than 57% in Uttar Pradesh, in what is seen as yet another indicator of the Yogi Adityanath govt's ever-sharpening focus on the farming sector to boost the state economy.
The UP govt spent 57.41% of the total over Rs 4,400 crore released by the Centre to UP under the flagship scheme on agriculture and allied activities in the first quarter of the 2025-26 fiscal, according to the latest data from the rural development department.
This was 13 percentage points more than in 2024-25 when 44.36% of the total MNREGS funds were spent on agriculture and allied activities in the state. Even during the pandemic, when economic activities came to a grinding halt and scores of people migrated back to their villages, only 33.76% of the MNREGS funds were spent on agriculture.
MNREGS is a demand-driven scheme, meaning funds are released to states based on the agreed-upon labour budget.
Officials in the rural development department said that the activities primarily carried out under MNREGS included land development, construction of irrigation canals, water harvesting structures, construction of farm ponds, plantation activities, and fencing. Analysts said that an increased focus on agriculture under MNREGS essentially meant improved farm productivity, employment generation in rural areas, and the creation of durable assets for the farmers.
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Experts said that the higher allocation for agriculture under MNREGS showed clear prioritisation of rural development through agriculture-focused assets, which potentially aligns well with the needs of a predominantly agrarian state like UP.
Unlike temporary wage work, agriculture-related MNREGS projects will help create long-term infrastructure (like irrigation systems, ponds, bunds, etc.) that directly benefit farming productivity.
Spending on agriculture, analysts said, also leads to multiplier benefits—improved irrigation, better yields, and more income for farmers, which in turn stimulates local rural economies. Activities like the construction of ponds may primarily help small and marginal farmers in storing water during dry months.
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