Delayed payments under the guaranteed rural employment programme MNREGA fell to 6-year low of Rs 67,956 crore last fiscal ended March 31. The amount of delayed payment had touched a high of Rs 2.38 lakh crore in 2015-16. It was Rs.2.08 lakh crore in 2016-17, said the SBI Ecowrap report based on government data. Apart from eight north eastern states, the big states that have delayed payments more than the national average were Bihar (39 per cent payments were delayed), Uttar Pradesh (36 per cent), Punjab (30 per cent), Maharashtra (27 per cent) and Karnataka (23 per cent).

(Economic Times)