Parliament Question: Increase in Climate Extremes

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 668 ANSWERED ON 03/02/2026 INCREASE IN CLIMATE EXTREMES

668. Smt. PratimaMondal:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

(a) the details of steps taken by the Ministry to align rural employment and asset creation with climate resilience and adaptation in the context of increasing climate extremes recognized globally; and

(b) the details of real-term expenditure on key rural development schemes declined, even as inflation, food insecurity and cost of living pressures disproportionately affect rural households? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI KAMLESH PASWAN)

(a): Under the Viksit Bharat—Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin): VB-G RAM G Act, 2025, climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation of extreme weather risks form an integral part of the statutory rural employment and asset creation framework. The primary objective of the Act is to align the rural development framework with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 by providing an enhanced statutory wage employment guarantee of one hundred and twenty-five days per financial year to rural households whose adult members volunteer to undertake unskilled manual work, while simultaneously creating durable and productive rural assets. The Act specifically provides for thematic focus on water security, core rural infrastructure, livelihood-related infrastructure, and special works to mitigate extreme weather events, in alignment with national development priorities.

The Act mandates decentralised and evidence-based planning through Viksit Gram Panchayat Plans, which are aggregated at Block, District, and State levels and integrated with geospatial and convergence-based planning systems. Within this planning framework, climate resilience and adaptation are embedded as core Page 1 of 4priorities. Permissible and priority categories of works include water conservation, watershed development, groundwater recharge, afforestation, source sustainability, flood and drought mitigation measures, and restoration and strengthening of natural resource assets. The Schedule to the Act further provides a dedicated thematic area of works related to “Special works to mitigate Extreme Weather Events and Disaster Preparedness,” with an explicit focus on disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, and protection of rural communities and assets from floods, cyclones, storms, droughts, landslides, forest fires, and other extreme weather events.

Illustrative works under this category include construction of cyclone shelters, flood shelters, and multipurpose disaster-resilient structures; diversion channels, embankments, and other disaster- mitigation works; stabilising ponds and water structures for flood management; post-disaster rehabilitation and restoration of rural roads and community assets; windbreak and shelterbelt plantations;

and forest fire management works such as fire breaks and fuel buffer zones. The intended outcome of these provisions is the creation of climate-resilient villages capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions.

Further, the Act also provides enabling provisions for operational relaxations during natural calamities and extraordinary circumstances, empowering the Central Government to allow temporary expansion of permissible works, relaxed documentation norms, and enhanced wage employment support to affected households to ensure timely response and recovery. These provisions collectively establish climate mitigation and adaptation as a built-in statutory component of planning and works under the Act.

Here it is stated that under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS also, Ministry had undertaken a series of policy, programmatic and operational measures to align rural employment generation and durable asset creation with climate resilience and adaptation, particularly in the context of increasing frequency and intensity of climate extremes.

Category-wise works taken up under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the current financial year 2025-26 (as on 28.01.2026) under the categories aligned with climate adaptation and natural resource

management is as under:

Page 2 of 4Details of categories of works related to climate under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during FY 2025-26 (as on 28th Jan 2026) Completed Ongoing Name of the Number of Expenditure Number of Expenditure Categories works (in Rs lakh) works (in Rs lakh) Drought Proofing (community plantation) 1,99,331 36,373.25 10,79,956 3,08,702.74 Flood Control and Protection 66,800 44,031.42 2,70,011 1,76,353.02 Land Development 2,73,350 1,02,702.71 5,64,718 3,16,397.14 Micro Irrigation Works 2,07,010 1,61,120.87 6,66,951 6,31,302.70 Renovation of traditional water bodies 43,589 43,910.32 1,66,362 2,75,208.14 Water Conservation and Water Harvesting 2,25,746 1,61,028.02 7,46,640 8,02,179.74

(b): Details of the total expenditure incurred on various schemes being implemented by Ministry of Rural Development during the financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26 (as on 28.01.2026) are given

below:

Financial Year Total Expenditure (Rs. in crore) 2022-23 177101.53 2023-24 150065.06 2024-25 172209.64 2025-26 (as on 28.01.2026) 106070.46 Through these schemes Ministry is helping in providing employment and livelihood opportunities to needy rural households as well as

holistic development of rural areas of the country: i) Through Mahatma Gandhi NREGS in addition to providing guaranteed wage employment of 100 days, large number of durable assets are also being created. It also works as a safety net during periods of economic or climatic distress.

ii) Under Pradhan MantriAwaasYojana (Gramin) houses are being constructed for the needy rural population. iii) Under Pradhan Mantri Gram SadakYojana roads are being constructed to connect rural habitation.

Page 3 of 4iv) National Rural livelihood Mission promotes self-employment and livelihood opportunities through Self-Help Groups. v) DeendayalUpadhyayGraminKaushalYojana supports the economic transformation of rural poor households through skill development.

vi) National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) provides social security pensions to the elderly, widows, and persons with disabilities. ***** Page 4 of 4