MNREGA during COVID-19 pandemic: More households got work in 2020, but fund crunch a major concern, finds study The importance of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as a safety net for the rural poor increased manifold during the COVID-19 lockdown, a new report has found Neerad Pandharipande December 31, 2020 15:55:52 IST File image of migrant workers and their families gathered at Dharavi slum in Mumbai. AP lockdown. A report on the scheme prepared by a group of academicians and activists showed that while more people availed of it in 2020 compared to last year, the shortfall in funds allocated for the scheme is a major worry.