The Ministry of Rural Development has said that the availability of funds is not a constraint for the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme. It said that MGNREGA is a demand-driven wage employment programme and the release of funds to States and UTs is a continuous process. It added that Central Government is making funds available keeping in view the demand for work. The Ministry seeks additional funds for the scheme as and when required to meet the demand for work on the ground.

The Ministry said that funds of the State of West Bengal have been stopped from March last year as per provision of Section 27 of MGNREGA due to non-compliance with directives of the Central Government. During the current financial year, 99.12 per cent of pay orders have been generated within 15 days to ensure that MGNREGA workers receive their wages on time. The Ministry has clarified that the Ministry has made it clear to all the States that the beneficiary who comes for work should be requested to provide the Aadhaar number but will not be refused work on this basis. It said, if a beneficiary does not demand for work, in such case her or his status about eligibility for the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System, APBS does not affect the demand for work. The Ministry said that job cards cannot be d on the basis of the reason that the worker is not eligible for APBS.