Employment declining despite higher registration in AP

Ongole: Despite a 3.1 per cent increase in household registrations under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Andhra Pradesh for 2024-25, actual employment provision has significantly declined, alongside a widening wage gap, according to a report by LibTech India.

The report notes that households completing the full 100 days of guaranteed employment fell from 14.8 per cent to 10.9 per cent, a sharper decline than the national drop from 7.5 per cent to 7 per cent. The state also experienced a 5.2 percent decrease in person-days generated, and average employment per household dropped by 6 percent, from 54.89 days to 51.62 days. Seventeen out of 26 districts saw reduced work provision, with Vizianagaram experiencing the largest decline at 17.8 percent.

Alarmingly, employment decreased in four out of six drought-affected districts, where support is critical. Additionally, a gap between officially notified wages and actual payments has grown, rising from 9.7 per cent to 14 per cent, leading to a loss of Rs 661 crore in wages for workers and an average income drop of Rs 294 per household compared to the previous year. On a positive note, Andhra Pradesh saw a net increase of 1.95 lakh job cards and 2.72 lakh workers, marking a reversal of job-card deletions for the first time since 2021-22.