VISTAS Vol. 6, No. 1, 2017, pp.
12-16 ISSN: 2319-5770, e-ISSN 2394-1138
“MGNREGA” AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Arya Narayanan
PG Economics, [Link]’s College, Irinjalakuda
Abstract
MGNREGA is the programme adopted for the rural development in India. The scheme is to provide
employment at least one person in the family for hundred working days in year. It gives more
importance to reduce the volume the poverty in rural area and with the employment generation.
This employment generating programmes that leads to rural women empowerment and rural
development. Through these programme women get more employment opportunities .It helps to
arise their family income and standard of leaving. So the present study is tilted as “Role of
MGNREGA for Rural Development: A case study of choondal Grama Panchayat in Thrissur
District”.
INTRODUCTION
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is
considered as a “Silver Bullet” for eradicating rural poverty and unemployment, by way
of generating demand for productive labour force in villages. Rural poverty and
unemployment in India have grown in an unprecedented manner during the last few
decades. There is a growing incidence of illiteracy, blind faith, hungry people, mal-
nourished children, anemic pregnant women, farmer suicides, starvation deaths,
migration resulting from inadequate employment, poverty, and the failure of
subsistence production during droughts. In order to make solution of these problems and
to provide livelihood security to rural unemployed, Government of India (GOI) enacted
the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005. It is the biggest
poverty alleviation programme in the world which is started with an initial outlay of Rs.
11,300 crore in year 2006-07 and now it is Rs. 40,000 crore (2010-11). This Act is now
called as Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. The Act provides a legal guarantee for 100 days of
employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household will to do
public work related unskilled manual work at the statutory minimum wage. Thus it is a
universal programme.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was
notified on 7th September, 2005 and came into force from 2 February 2006. It is the
world’s biggest employment guarantee Programme and aims at enhancing livelihood
security of households in rural areas of the country by providing100 days of guaranteed
wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual work. Its primary objective is to augment wage employment and
strengthen natural resource management. Job cards are issued to all the workers
seeking employment under MGNREG scheme and unemployment allowance is paid, if
work is not assigned within 15 days. Under the MGNREGS, use of machineries which
replaces human labour is minimized, wage rates for both men and women are the same
and one-third of the beneficiaries should be women. It also provides equal opportunities
to SCs, STs and other weaker sections of the society.
OBJECTIVES
To examine the socio-Economic background of the MGNREGA workers in
choondal Grama Panchayat.
VISTAS Vol. 6, No. 1 ● 13
To analyse the Role of MGNREGA to promote employment and Women
Empowerment in choondal Grama Panchayat.
To identify the level of rural development in choondal Grama Panchayat.
METHODOLOGY
Primary and Secondary data are used for the study. Primary data collected from the
beneficiaries of MGREGA from the choondal Grama Panchayat .Choondal Grama
Panchayat consists of 17 wards. Out of seventeen wards 5 wards randomly selected.
From each ward twenty workers are selected. The total sample size is hundred. Well-
structured interview schedule was used to collect information from the workers. The
study has three main components i) the survey of the MGNREGA workers in Choondal
Grama Panchayat. ii) The discussion with local government representatives to assess
the performance of the MGNREGA [Link]) Locale – specific case studies of the
working units in sample area. Discussion method is used to collect the information from
the local representatives and Panchayat authorities. The secondary data that were
collected from the books and journals, internet and other published sources of the
Panchayat like Annual Report, Karadu etc. The collected data analysed by using simple
statistical tool like average and percentage.
HISTORY OF MGNREGA
MNREGA has come after almost 56 years of experience of other rural employment
programmes, which include both Centrally Sponsored Schemes and those launched by
State Govt. These comprise the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) 1980-
89; Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) 1983-89; Jawahar
Rojgar Yojana (JRY) 1989-1990; Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)1993-99;
Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) 1999-2002; Sampoorna Grameen Rojgar Yojana
2 (SGRY) from 2001;National Food For Work Programme (NFFWP) from 2004 were
national rural employment schemes. Among these, the SGRY and NFFWP have been
merged with NREGA in to Significance of MGNREGA.
MGNREGA aims to achieve the objective as enunciated in the Article: 41 of the Indian
Constitution- “giving citizens the right to work”, i.e. While the earlier wage employment
programmes did not provide any guarantee of job, this Act provided guaranteed job. This
guarantee for wage employment is now uniformed all over the country like never before.
It is a development initiative, chipping in with essential public investment for creation
of durable assets, without which the growth process can’t be possible in the most
backward regions of rural India. Almost all the previous programmes were allocation
based rather than demand based. NREGA, which was launched in 2006, is considered to
be unique from this stand point.
The key element of MGNREGA is the provision of employment by the state to those
people who are unable to find alternative employment, which provides a form of social
safety net to the rural unemployment people. It is a development initiative, chipping in
with essential public investment for creation of durable assets, without which the
growth process can’t be possible in the most backward regions of rural India. Almost all
the previous programmes were allocation based rather than demand based. NREGA,
which was launched in 2006, is considered to be unique from this stand point.
14 ● ISSN: 2319-5770 e-ISSN 2394-1138
The key element of MGNREGA is the provision of employment by the state to those
people who are unable to find alternative employment, which provides a form of social
safety net to the rural unemployment people. In other wage employment programmes,
anyone can be engaged as labour while in MGNREGA only job card holders that apply
for employment can be engaged as laborers. There is no time frame in other wage
employment programmes but in MGNREGA, employment will be given within 15 days
of demand, payment also within 15 days of work.
In other wage employment programme the duration of employment is dependent on
duration of work by implementing agency while in MGNREGA; a job card holder applies
for maximum 100 days. The other key attributes of this Act are labour-intensive work,
decentralized participatory planning, women’s empowerment, work-site facilities and
above all transparency and accountability through the provision of social audits and
right to information. The use of information technology in this programme is considered
to bring about greater transparency through intensive monitoring and faster execution.
The payment of wages through bank and post office accounts is other innovative step
that is likely to reduce fudging of muster rolls on the part of the implementing agencies
since the actual payments are beyond their reach. Thus MGNREGA is not only a
welfare initiative but also a development effort that can take the Indian economy to a
new prosperity.
SALIENT FEATURES OF MGNREGA
Right based-frame work
All adult members of a rural household willing to do unskilled manual work have the
right to demand employment. The GP after due verification will issue a job card. After
verification, the GP will issue a job card (contain details of the member) to the
household with photograph free of cost within 15 days of application.
Time bound guarantee of employment
Employment will be provided by the GP within 15 days of work application, else
unemployment allowance will be paid. A household may avail to 100 days of guaranteed
employment in a financial year, depending on its need.
Permissible works
Water conservation; drought proofing (including plantation & a forestation); flood
protection; land development; minor irrigation. In other wage employment programmes,
anyone can be engaged as labour while in MGNREGA only job card holders that apply
for employment can be engaged as laborers. There is no time frame in other wage
employment programmes but in MGNREGA, employment will be given within 15 days
of demand, payment also within 15 days of work.
In other wage employment programme the duration of employment is dependent on
duration of work by implementing agency while in MGNREGA; a job card holder applies
for maximum 100 days. The other key attributes of this Act are labour-intensive work,
decentralized participatory planning, women’s empowerment, work-site facilities and
above all transparency and accountability through the provision of social audits and
right to information. The use of information technology in this programme is considered
VISTAS Vol. 6, No. 1 ● 15
to bring about greater transparency through intensive monitoring and faster execution.
The payment of wages through bank and post office accounts is other innovative step
that is likely to reduce fudging of muster rolls on the part of the implementing agencies
since the actual payments are beyond their reach. Thus MGNREGA is not only a
welfare initiative but also a development effort that can take the Indian economy to a
new prosperity.
FINDINGS
18% of the sample respondents are above 65 years. It indicate that it also provide job
security to aged group. The participation of the Muslim community in MGNREGA in the
choondal Grama Panchayat is comparatively low i.e. only 11% of the sample population.
74% of the sample respondents are belongs to the Below Poverty Line .That indicates
the major participant of the MGNREGA programme are BPL families. Educational
backgrounds of the sample respondents are very poor. Only 4% of the sample
respondents having education above SSLC. The average size of the landholdings of the
sample respondents are 8 cents. 58% of the sample respondent is aware about the
programme attendenting by Grama sabha. The number of persons increasing each year
getting more than 75 days .i.e. 52% of the sample respondent getting working days more
than 75 days. Out of the hundred sample respondent 78 respondents having job cards
and others are applied for the job cards.
57% of the sample respondent is satisfied in the present working status of the
MGNREGA in the Grama Panchayat. 12% of the sample respondents are highly
satisfied in MGNREGA programme. They are aged above 65 years. 79% of the samples
respondents are prefer private works rather than these programme. The wage in
MGNREGA is 229/per day but in private works minimum wages is 500/per day for
women and 650/per day for men. 42% of the sample respondents are expressed that
works done through the MGNREGA is helpful for the rural development. Women
empowerment is the key indicator of the rural development. The participation of the
sample in the self helps groups 85% of the sample respondents having membership in
kudubasree units.
SC /ST Participation of the MGNREGA programme in the Panchayat is moderate that
means out of the hundred sample respondents 24 are scheduled tribes and scheduled
caste. Regular meals, debt repayment, clothing, health, Education of children, and social
status of the sample respondents are improved after joining MGNREGA programme.
52% of the sample respondent used their income for meeting the food expenditure and
only 22% of the sample respondents are used their income for saving. MGNREGA also
provided employment to the disabled persons. I.e. 6% of the sample respondents are
disabled persons.
CONCLUSION
MGNREGA is envisaged to enhance the livelihood security of household in the rural
areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wages
employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer
to do unskilled manual works. MGNREGA has been implemented in the state as a
means for survival of a section of the unskilled labourers in rural area. It has created
confidence and expectation among the rural poor, especially women who are engaged in
16 ● ISSN: 2319-5770 e-ISSN 2394-1138
environment cleaning, deforestation and road connectivity. The Huge potential of the
scheme enabled the poor to address their problems of poverty, education and the need
for the improved facilities in the health to a great extent .The greater participation of
women in MGNREGA is an indication of the wide scale acceptance of the local people
towards the scheme .The Scheme is being implemented in the state in three phases.
The objective of the study was to analyse how the demand driven employment granted
scheme is implemented in the choondal Grama Panchayat, further it was also intend to
observe whether it enabled the creation of productive assets, protection of the
environment and the empowerment of women in the rural area. The impact of the
scheme was analyzed by taking in to account of the major four components such as
number of families that registered for job cards. The families that obtained the job
cards, employment generated are the major activities taken up under the scheme.
The present study reveals that the number of registering persons increasing each year
and the Panchayat issued job cards to 78% of the total registered candidates. The
families registered for job card increasing each year, it indicates that the attractions of
peoples towards this programme are increasing, especially a markable increase in the
case of the women. One of the important things is that the proportion of the SC and ST
families that registered also increased in each year.
There was an increase in the certain indicators and decrease in others, but most of the
components showed in a progressive picture .The total number of household got
employment and families that got 100 days of employment increased but the same time
the participation of man showed decline, women participation increased. There were
significant increases in employment creation in the choondal Grama Panchayat.
Panchayat take all the promotional activities for providing better employment through
MGNREGA.
REFERENCES
Sreedhara Menon,’ A Survey of Kerala history’ DC books, Kottayam 2008
Amalesh Banerjee,’ Food security and regional planning’, Kanishka publication, New Delhi,
2004
Economic Survey 2012-13
Choondal Grama Panchayat Vikasana report, 2014