Allocations for important development and welfare programs have lagged behind real needs for years by Bharat Dogra https://countercurrents.org/2025/02/allocations-for-important-development-and-welfare-programs-have-lagged-behind-real-needs-for-years/ The program of rural employment guarantee has attracted international attention for providing legal framework (NREGA) for employment in works which benefit rural communities by promoting sustainable development (for example by taking up water conservation and minor irrigation). However the legal guarantee for employment can work only if the local administration has enough funds to support his. When allocations were inadequate even a few years back and when there is a decline in real terms, employment cannot be generated when there is need and demand, and wages for work provided cannot be paid in time, and in the process the objectives of the law-based scheme cannot be realized.