Gandhinagar, March 4 (IANS): The Gujarat government on Wednesday declared that it had reduced the man-days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Agency scheme (MNREGA) by 8% in 2019, compared to the previous year.

In reply to various questions raised by the opposition Congress MLAs in the state assembly, Rural Development Minister Bachubhai Khabad said the Gujarat government provided a total of of 4,05,06,503 man-days of work under the MNREGA in 2018, while it provided 3,72,88,935 days of work under the scheme in 2019. Thus there was a reduction of 32,17,568 days of labour which was about 8%.

Even though there was a general reduction of 8% of man-days in 2019 compared to 2018, in some areas of the state there was a reduction in man-days of more than 50%. In Anand district total 6,60,230 of man-days were provided in 2018, whereas in 2019 only 2,57,010 man-days were provided, which was 61% less then the previous year.

The opposition Congress said it was not only a reduction in man-days but also a cut-down in central government's allocation for the scheme over the years.