PATNA, Dec. 2 -- The rural development department (RDD) has started accelerating the creation of higher mandays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme (MGNREGS) as the job works for unskilled poor from weaker sections has witnessed a bit of slowdown in last few months owing to the rainy season and recently concluded elections in Bihar, officials in the department said.

Though the annual target of MGNREGS for this fiscal year 2025-26 is 21 crore mandays, the RDD has generated only 16.5 crore mandays till date, which is much lower than last year. Officials said the target of annual mandays ( based on the earth work) in last fiscal year was around 25 crore due to high generation of works given to job card holders in the s...