Doubling farmers income: CM panel mulls ways to align works under MGNREGA

The subgroup of chief ministers on agriculture and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) held their first meeting on Thursday to chalk out policies to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's stated goal of doubling farmers income by 2022. The sub-group was chaired by Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Chief Minister, Madhya Pradesh. 

Chouhan, who briefed the press after the meet, said the subgroup held a discussion on the way to align works under MGNREGA fully to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income and reduce the cost of production as well as agrarian distress. 

The sub-group also held discussions on interventions of MGNREGA to facilitate reduction of agrarian distress including work availability, wage rates, seasonality etc. They also had a discussion on ways to end the problem of stubble burning that is a major concern in northern India during the harvesting season.
 
Chouhan also added that important suggestions were given by his counterparts Mamata Banerjee and Chandrababu Naidu. However, he said more discussions are needed to reach any conclusion. 

In addition, a team of the NITI Aayog will be visiting five different places, namely Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Guwahati and Hyderabad, to have comprehensive discussions on ways to use MNREGA, the wage employment scheme that provides employment of 100 days, to double farmers income. The first meet will be held in Lucknow on August 6, 2018. The sub-group will also approach the farmers' associations and individuals for suggestions.  

The second meet of the sub-group will be held on August 31, 2018. During the meet, the group will have a discussion on changing the format of MNREGA including an increase in the days of employment, which stands at 100 days at present. 

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About the Chief Ministers Subgroup 
The Chief Ministers Subgroup was constituted in June 2018 to coordinate policy approaches for agricultural and MGNREGS to achieve Prime Minister Modi's vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022, which requires a multi-dimensional and inclusive approach. Members of the subgroup include chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Sikkim along with the Member NITI Aayog, Ramesh Chand.