The number of individuals registered under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Kerala has seen a significant drop in the 2024-25 financial year, plummeting by 55.91 per cent from 2021-22. According to data tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, only 1.53 lakh workers registered this year, compared to 3.47 lakh in 2021-22.

Since the scheme’s inception, the total number of registered workers in the state has also declined by 9.96%, falling from 63.57 lakh in 2021-22 to 57.24 lakh in 2024-25. Malappuram recorded the highest number of new registrations this year (18,862), though the district had 6.04 lakh workers registered in 2021-22.

Year-wise MGNREGA registrations in Kerala:
2021-22: 3,46,631
2022-23: 1,80,684
2023-24: 1,49,610
2024-25: 1,53,391

Meanwhile, the number of workers who availed employment under the scheme during the last five financial years from 2019-20 to 2023-24 has shown an increase of 0.45 per cent.
2019-20: 16,54,129
2020-21: 18,82,654
2021-22: 18,98,995
2022-23: 17,58,623
2023-24: 16,61,622

MGNREGA is a demand-driven wage employment scheme aimed at enhancing livelihood security in rural India. It guarantees at least 100 days of wage employment annually to households whose adult members volunteer for unskilled manual work, serving as a fallback option when better opportunities are unavailable.