The demand for work under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (Mgnrega) increased nearly 40 per cent in the current fiscal year owing to the mass migration of migrant workers to rural India, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said demand for work rose by 38.79 percent as 22.49 crore people sought work under the scheme this year until September 12, as compared to 16.2 crore last year in the same period.

“The number of beneficiaries provided employment under Mgnerga  during the current fiscal year 2021 as on September 12, 2020, is 8.29 crore,” he said in a statement.

More than 1.04 crore migrant workers across the country returned to their home states amid the coronavirus pandemic-led livelihood crisis. Of all the migrant workers who returned home, 75 percent hailed from five states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

The number of households seeking employment under Mgnerga also went up by 38.73 percent this fiscal year. As per the data, 8.9 crore households sought work under the scheme in the April-July period of 2020, which rose to 12.47 crore households in the same period this fiscal year.

There is a budgetary allocation of Rs 61,500 crore during fiscal year 2021 under Mgnerga and Rs 60,599 crore has been released so far, the statement said. When asked if the government has any plan to allow employment for workers under Mgnerga in private agricultural activities, Tomar said no such plan is in the works.