Guaranteed Rural Employment in AP Drops by 563 Lakh Days

Visakhapatnam: LibTech India’s latest MGNREGA Tracker for Andhra Pradesh reveals a steep contraction in rural employment during FY 2025–26, with total person-days generated falling by 23.2 per cent, from 2,422.84 lakh in 2024–25 to 1,859.77 lakh in 2025–26.

The decline began before the repeal of MGNREGA in December 2025. However, under the new VB-G RAM G framework, employment fell more sharply. This is the weakest performance of the rural employment guarantee scheme since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, raising concerns of structural weakening and policy disruption.

According to LibTech India, the contraction is visible across all indicators. Registered households declined by 6.1 per cent, households receiving work fell by 8.6 per cent, and workers employed dropped by 10.1 per cent. Average workdays per household fell by 16 per cent, while households completing 100 days of work plummeted by 57.6 per cent.

District-level data confirms the depth of decline, with all 26 districts reporting reductions in person-days. NTR district recorded the steepest fall of 46.5 per cent, followed by Chittoor 38.5 per cent and Annamayya 30.9 per cent.

Quarter-wise trends showed employment weakening throughout the year. The October–December period saw the largest proportional decline of nearly 60 per cent, while January–March registered the largest absolute drop of about 170 lakh person-days. The final quarter coinciding with MGNREGA repeal and transition to VB-G RAM G shows significant disruption in employment generation.

Despite a wage increase from Rs 300 to Rs 307 per day, reduced work availability resulted in lower income. Average household earnings fell from Rs 13,190 to Rs 11,616, a decline of Rs 1,574. Wage expenditure dropped by Rs 1,210 crore, underscoring that higher wages did not translate into higher incomes due to a lack of work. The workforce itself shrank, with 4.58 lakh job cards and 12.33 lakh workers lost in AP, in contrast to national trends of expansion.

Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe households bore a disproportionate burden, accounting for Rs 484 crore in wage losses, nearly 40 per cent of the total shortfall.

LibTech India warns that the contraction is systemic, driven by both reduced work availability and workforce deletions. The transition to VB-G RAM G has created uncertainty.