Poor MGNREGA Implementation Dropped GST, Sales Tax Growth in Andhra: Jagan

According to the former chief minister, the alleged drop in GST and sales tax growth points to the "lower purchasing power and consequently lower demand".

"Historically, Andhra Pradesh (AP) has been considered one of the best-performing states in MGNREGA implementation. Over the last two years of the TDP alliance government, we have witnessed the State lagging on this front. This is also evident from low GST and Sales tax growth during the last two years," said Reddy in a post on X.

There was no immediate reaction from the ruling TDP, which heads the NDA government. From the perspective of rural economy, effective implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is of vital importance, he said.

This programme enhances disposable incomes in rural sections who have the highest marginal propensity to consume, thereby supporting rural consumption, the opposition leader said.

On almost all parameters of MGNREGA such as approved labour budget, total households worked, expenditure and others, the YSRCP chief underscored that the performance signals "contraction" over the last two years.

Juxtaposing MGNREGA performance between the last year (FY24) of the erstwhile YSRCP government and the second year (FY26) of the current NDA regime, he flagged "degrowth" under several parameters such as approved labour budget, person days of central liability, households that completed 100 days of employment and others.

Reddy claimed that households that completed 100 days of employment declined by over 68 percent, total households worked dropped from 46.5 lakh to 42.8 lakh and total individuals worked fell from 75.4 lakh to 67.6 lakh.

Citing figures from the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, the opposition leader highlighted that expenditure on MGNREGA plummeted by 11.5 percent from nearly Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 8,000 crore.

Further, he alleged that total wages for unskilled workers dropped by over 21 percent to nearly Rs 5,000 crore from over Rs 6,000 crore. He also charged that the TDP-led NDA alliance government is too preoccupied with indulging in "corruption driven by unquenchable thirst for wealth" and does not have the bandwidth to focus on the problems confronting the people of the state.