UPSC Mains 2025 GS4 Q11: model answer
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, MGNREGA was earlier known as National Rural Employment Scheme, NREGA. It is an Indian Social Welfare Program that aimed at fulfilling the ‘Right to Work’ provisions made in the Constitution. MGNREGA was launched in 2006 under Rural Employment Sector by the Ministry of Rural Development.
Main objective of the program is to give legal guarantee of wage employment to the adult members of rural households who are willing to do unskilled manual labour work subject to a maximum of 100 days per year for every household. Every rural household has the right to register under the scheme, job card is issued to the registered, Job Card holder can seek employment; State Government shall pay 25% of minimum wage for the first 30 days as compensatory daily unemployment allowance to the families and of wage for remaining period of the year. MGNREGA work was undertaken by various Gram Panchayats.
You have been appointed as an Administrator Incharge of the District. You have been given the responsibility of monitoring MGNREGA work undertaken by various Gram Panchayats. You are also given the authority to give technical sanctions to all MGNREGA works.
In one of the Panchayats in your jurisdiction, you notice that your predecessor has mismanaged the Program in terms of :
(i) Money not disbursed to actual job-seekers.
(ii) Muster Rolls of the Labourers not properly maintained.
(iii) Mismatch between the work done and payments made.
(iv) Payments made to fictitious persons.
(v) Job Cards were given without looking into the need of person. (vi) Mismanagement of funds and to the extent of siphoning of funds. (vii) Approved works that never existed.
(a) What is your reaction to the above situation and how do you restore the proper functioning of MGNREGA Program in this regard?
(b) What actions would you initiate to solve the various issues listed above?
(c) How would you deal with the above situation?
What the question wants
React to the mismanagement found in MGNREGA, restore functioning, address each listed problem.
How to structure it
Intro: MGNREGA is a legal right to work for the rural poor. Body: (a) Reaction and restoration; (b) Problem-wise actions (muster rolls, job cards without need, siphoning of funds); (c) Overall handling. Conclusion: Accountability should be certain but not a witch-hunt.
- 1(a) Reaction and restoration
- 2(b) Problem-wise actions (muster rolls, job cards without need, siphoning of funds)
- 3(c) Overall handling
Model answer
MGNREGA is a legal right to work for the rural poor. The irregularities found mean that the poorest households were cheated of wages owed to them.
- 1Secure records; stop unverified payments
- 2Door-to-door job card verification
- 3Field check of works; geo-tagging
- 4Social audit in Gram Sabha (s.17)
- 5Recover funds; disciplinary and criminal action
- 6Pay pending wages; NMMS attendance, wall boards, helpline
(a) Reaction and restoration
- My first concern is the workers who were denied wages, not the predecessor's reputation.
- Respond firmly but fairly: verify facts, protect records, act through due process.
- Restore trust by resuming work promptly in the Panchayat with full transparency.
(b) Problem-wise actions
- Money not reaching job-seekers / fictitious persons: verify job cards door to door; Aadhaar-linked payments through DBT and the NREGASoft MIS; cancel fake cards.
- Muster rolls: use the National Mobile Monitoring System for attendance with geo-tagged photographs; muster rolls read out at worksites.
- Mismatch of work and payment / works that never existed: field inspection by technical teams; geo-tag assets under GeoMGNREGA; withhold technical sanction for unverified works.
- Job cards without need: re-verification in Gram Sabha.
- Siphoning of funds: special audit; recovery from responsible persons; FIR where fraud is clear.
(c) Overall handling
- Order a social audit under Section 17 with the Gram Sabha, as the Act requires.
- Report the findings to the State Government and the State Employment Guarantee Council; recommend disciplinary action against officials, including the predecessor if evidence supports it.
- Pay pending wages and unemployment allowance where due.
- Display work details and payments on wall boards; set up a grievance helpline.
- Train Panchayat staff; monthly review meetings.
Accountability should be certain but not a witch-hunt. The aim is to give the worker back his right, and the scheme back its credibility.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
right to work social audit (s.17) NMMS GeoMGNREGA DBT Gram Sabha
Where most answers lose marks
- Only punishing without restoring wages.
- Ignoring due process.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER-IV-QP-CSM-25-010925.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.