NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT ,2005

INTRODUCTION

A number of programmes, namely National Rural Employment Programme (NREP), Rural

Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP), Food For Work (FFW), Jawahar Rojgar
Yojana (JRY), Ensured Employment Scheme (EEC) were launched with a view to provide direct
supplementary wage employment in rural areas. Later on, during the year 2000 and 2004 three
more programmes, namely Sampoorna Gramin Rojgar Yojana (SGRY), Rashtriya Sam Vikas
Yojana (RSVY) and National Food For Work (NFFW) were launched all over the country with a
view to provide supplementary wage employment in rural areas, create durable public assets and
to ensure food security. These labour intensive programmes could provide some relief to the rural
poor through short duration casual wage earning employment and provide some food security
during the period of acute drought conditions2. But these could neither provide any guarantee to
regular employment, nor durable public assets could be created leading towards sustainable
development. The situation of unemployment has been compounded by the absence of any social
security mechanism. There was, therefore an urgent need to ensure a certain minimum days of
employment that too guaranteed in the shape of manual labour to every household in the rural
areas and it came in the form of National Rural Employment guarantee act

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is a revolutionary step for India's poor. Since
independence, it was being demanded that right to work should be included in the list of
Fundamental Rights. It was a matter of concern for all governments that inspite of their best
effort, the problem of unemployment and poverty never came under control. It is noteworthy that
a large number of rural youth have been migrating to the cities since independence. Therefore, it
always remained the priority of the governments to stop this exodus of population to the cities3.
Therefore the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is being implemented to enhance the
livelihood security of people in rural areas by generating wage employment through works that
develop the infrastructure base ofthat area. The objective behind this is to rejuvenate natural
resources to stimulate the local economy and to stop local population from migration to the
cities. Even today, 72 per cent of households belonging to rural India account for nearly 75 per
cent of total population. In rural areas, about 66 percent of employed males and 84 per cent of
employed females are engaged in the agriculture sector. This way, we are still depending on
agriculture which in turn depends on monsoon. It was therefore imperative to assure the rural lot
that are part and parcel of our developing economy4. Dr. Manmohan Singh and the UPA
Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi launched on February 2, 2006 the first-ever ambitious bid to
tackle rural poverty by seeking to guarantee a hundred days of employment each year to rural
families. It was launched in a remote village Bandlapalli in Anantpur district in Andhra Pradesh
where thousands of farmers have committed suicide in the past two years due to mounting debts.

in 200 districts across the country. In the second phase it is being implemented in 130 more
districts. Now from 1-4-2008 the entire country is covered within the sphere of NREGA. It is the
first time in the history of post independence India, Panchayati Raj Institutions are expected to be
directly involved in this scheme in such a way that they would implement the scheme as an
integral part of rural development plan. Gram Panchayats and Gram Sabhas would decide types
of work to be undertaken in the villages and use of funds earmarked under the scheme. Gram
Sabha would discuss and approve this plan. Gram Sabhas would also supervise and monitor the
implementation of the NREGA. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: Some Basic
Features The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is a "Laymen's Act" or "People's Act"
in several senses. It empowers ordinary people to play an active role in the implementation of
Employment Guarantee Schemes through Gram Sabhas, social audits, participatory planning and
other meansõ. More than any other law, NREGA is an Act of the people, by the people and for
the people. : The objectives of this scheme is to enhance livelihood security in rural i jas by way
of guaranteed wage employment .generating productive assets, protecting the environment,
empowering rural women, fostering social equity and reducing rural-urban migration. This Act
guarantees 1 00 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult
members are willing to do unskilled manual work. To get employment the registered adult must
submit an application on a plain paper in writing to Gram Panchayat or the Programme Officer
(at block level) and get a dated receipt of the application. Upon registrations, a Job Card .vili be
issued by the Gram Panchayat with photographs of adult members of the registered household. It
will be valid for five years and will have the registration number of the household. A Job Card is
a document that gives an applicant a entitlement for employment.
NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYENT GUARANTEE ACT: A SWOT ANALYSIS

With an enlightened vision on literature related to NREGA and personal research and experience
it is pertinent to highlight success and failure of the scheme as well as future prospects in all its
pros and cons through SWOT Analysis, i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

STRENGHTS

♦ It is empowering the people by granting them a right to livelihood which is able to transform
their dreams into reality.

♦ It entitle our rural poor to guaranteed employment, to a means of sustenance, a means to avert
distress, a means to secure two square meals and a means to lift them out of the lap of poverty.

♦ Acc. to the Act 6, the summary of the scheme shall be published by the State Government in
vernacular language which indicates the importance given to communication, the very life-blood
of success.

♦ As per the Act 7, the preparation of labour budget in the month of December for the next
financial year indicates the importance given to planning, an other off-shoot of success.

♦ As per item no. 5 of Schedule 1 proper maintenance of the created public assets is leading way
to sustainable developments.

♦ The system of advance, multiple and group applications under the provisions of the Act
substantiates its multidimensional approach.

♦ NREGA is a Guarantee not mere a Scheme and that too demand-driven substantially
differentiating it from earlier programs and schemes of employment generation and poverty
alleviation.

♦ According to the analysis made by the government agencies, the key to this Act lies in the word
" Guarantee." There are so many schemes for the poor. But in those schemes there are many
loopholes for interference from politicians. A guarantee seeks to take this power away from the
hands of politicians. It makes it a right, something that people will expect and demand,
something they can complain about or in extreme cases, sue the government.

♦ It has the potential to profoundly alter the ways bureaucrats treat the people they are suppose to
serve.

♦ One of the most positive development emerging from the social audit is the creation of new
partnership between the government and civil society organizations benefiting all parties. Social
audit-a transparent, participatory and active evaluator process has the potentiality to attack the
corruption that plagues anti-poverty programmes.

♦ NREGA also gives impetus to micro-planning coupled with decentralized planning as most of
the plans are prepared at Gram Sabha level.

♦ As we know that any future edifice of success will be based on three Ws i.e. Work, Women and
Water and NREGA incidentally covers all the three ingredients of future progress in the form of
unskilled manual work (Work), women empowerment (Women) and priority to water
conservation and water-harvesting projects (Water)

WEAKNESSES:

On the basis of keen and minute study of theoretical and practical aspects related to NREGA
following observations highlighting the Weaknesses may be taken into consideration .

♦ The objectives achieved and benefits accrued under NREGA were not as expected as well as in
proportion to the funds invested. Most significant reasons can be attributed to utter lack of
involvement and participation of local people, for whom these scheme were evolved, in the
matter of planning, implementation, monitoring-cum-concurrent evaluation, ex-post impact
evaluation and modifying the projects to suit to local conditions and peoples needs.

♦ Like other schemes and Acts, this Act is also suffering from the lack of awareness and social
mobilization among the poor sons of Mother India due to illiteracy and passive attitude of these
victims of poverty and unemployment.
♦ Job-Card which is known as the spinal-cord of NREGA is suffering from the genetic disease
i.e. corruption as from the very starting of the Act most of the Job-Cards are without photographs
openly laughing at the provision of accountability and transparency.

♦ It came to notice that during the harvesting time unskilled workers prefer to work in the field
leaving NREGA a scheme only existing in the papers.

♦ The contact farming has been reduced leading to aggravating the problem of peasantry.

♦ On the horizontal and vertical pretext of the Panchayati Raj Institutions a new tension.

OPPURTUTNITIES:

So far as the Opportunities are concerned, some of the opportunities may be discussed as under:-

♦ The Act offers an opportunity to empower weaker section of our society. Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes and beneficiaries of land reforms can benefit through irrigation works on their
fields.

♦ Women have been given priority in the allotment of employment opportunities.

♦ The economic security offered by the Act can be leveraged for social equity as well.

♦ It has the capabilities for making effective use of so far unutilized physical resources of the
villages.

♦ A careful selection and execution of works has the potential to transform the rural economy of
the State and to change the very geography of poverty.

♦ Income of the Panchayats can be increased up to 20% to 40% which may lead to internal
resources mobilization and coupled with project-shelf and work-force at its disposal, the main
stumbling block to the growth of Panchayati Raj Institutions of there F's i.e. Funds, Functions
and Functionaries may be solved to a considerable extent.

THREATS:

Considering the threats aspect of SWOT analysis we can say that:-

♦ How a family will decide who should get the job under this scheme. This may disintegrate the
families and brotherhood will be at the stake.

♦ It is feared that under this scheme, the physically weaker could be left out.

♦ Keeping in view the precedents of politician - bureaucracy dismal relationship it is feared that
tension may exist in their relationship in the implementation of this scheme.

♦ The question is also being asked as to how poor states will afford to shell out 10 per cent for
this purpose. Moreover, unemployment allowance is also given by the state exchequer.

♦ The scheme has also to be implemented very cautiously, otherwise it will be eclipsed by
corruption particularly in the form of demanding bribe for giving job and in the form of
preparing fake muster rolls.

♦ Registration of bogus families/individuals and asking for money for registering names. may be
there leading to corruption. Further issuance of false Job Cards, issuance of Job Cards to
ineligible persons e.g. to non-resident and to minors and delay in receiving Job Cards may
aggravate the problem.

♦ Selection of work may serve a vested interest due to selection of low priority or inappropriate
works as the Gram Sabhas are not actively participating.

♦ Neglection of urban unemployed at the horizontal level and skilled worker at the vertical level
may cause a great threat to this noble cause oriented scheme.

♦ Increasing trend of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and LPG i.e. Liberalization, Privatization
and Globalization if not treated properly may cause a great hurdle in attaining its goal.

♦ Inflation and instability in the economy of the nation are also causing threat to this Act. There
are people who believe that the huge cost of the project might not be affordable for country like
India. They feel that this might lead to a sharp increase in interest rates and will have divastating
effect for the country's fiscal deficit.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

If we want to fulfill the desire of Our Prime Minister who has described NREGS as 'a iandmark
in our history in removing poverty from the face of the nation', then some suggestive aspects
should be kept in mind:-.

♦ For the emergence of Gram Sabha as a body to whom the Gram Panchayat is accountable
there is need to define the powers and functions of Gram Sabha in great detail, specifying its role
as planner, decision-maker and auditor for the success of the scheme.

♦ Print and electronic media may consider necessary to release full report on a quarterly basis
giving scope for constructive criticism for the smooth functioning of NREGS.

♦ Last year's implementation in 200 districts would provide feedback and experiences which may
be written as case studies by subject experts to improve future policy and strategy.

♦ All the 29 items of Xlth Schedule in respect of 3F's i.e. Funds, Functions and Functionaries
should be devolved to PRIs for coordinated development of rural areas as a whole in tune with
NREGS.

♦ It is worthwhile to understand the present status of their functioning and initiating the most
desired and essential components viz, participation, empowerment and capacity building of
Gram Sabhas and Gram Panchayats through need based training and evolving human resources
development policy.

♦ For this purpose it would be necessary to assign the role to National Institute of Rural
Development and State Institutes of Rural Development to design training syllabus focusing
sharply on all aspects of planning, implementing, managing financial resources, accounting,
audit, monitoring-cum-concurrent evaluation, capacity building etc. for all the key implementing
agencies.

♦ Under the NREGA the capacity building should result into effective participation of all rural
house-holds, more importantly women and other marginalized groups in GS meetings and
discussion leading to decision making process.

♦ Elimination of caste, class and gender divide in the constitution of GP.

♦ Evolution of result oriented plan of activities, strategic execution and monitoring system in line
with the objectives of the NREGS.

♦ Efficient mobilization of local resources for the development of village economy and better
understanding of local self-governance and democratic values while taking decision.

♦ Effective coordination and communication between GP and GS to resolve problems and avoid
misunderstanding/communication gap.

♦ Better networking and coordination between voluntary organizations and the GS/GP to share
experiences for mutual benefits.

♦ Effective delivery of development program leading to achieving the expected objectives/

results.

♦ Adequate transparency in respect of scheme implementation including selection of targeted

beneficiary, use of funds/resources and accountability of planners and implementers to GS.

♦ I nformation technology in the form of e-governance intervention is necessary to create data

base as well as ensuring transparency.

♦ Monitoring-cum-concurrent evaluation of the scheme on a regular and continuing basis should

be entrusted to independent professional institutions and deficiencies noticed must be corrected
on time by adopting appropriate policies.

♦ Review and monitoring of the implementation progress may need to be done on a monthly
basis at PRI level. It should also be done quarterly at the state level and half yearly at the national
level by a High Power Committee chaired by the Cabinet Minister for Rural Development.
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF MAHATMA GANDHI EMPLOYMENT GUARATEE ACT , 2005

THE IMPACT OF THE ACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY

In the Indian context where the economy is largely dependent on agriculture, a large proportion
of the rural population is dependent on the wages which they earn through unskilled manual
labour in agriculture and otherwise. The workers in MGNREGS are largely casual workers who
are vulnerable and suffer from chronic poverty when there is inadequate labour demand or when
there are some calamities like natural disasters or personal crisis like ill-health or indebtedness
etc.

In this context programmes like MGNREGS are extremely important as they provide the
community with income during critical times especially during lean agricultural seasons.
MGNREGS is being projected as the largest social security scheme in the world. Huge sums of
money are being spent at the village level to ensure that the poorest and the needy households get
a guaranteed employment for at least 100 days in the village.

The scheme is expected to bring about radical changes in the rural economy. The scheme is
poised to make a great impact on the households to bring them out of the poverty trap. This
chapter explores the impact that the scheme has had on individual households as well as on the
village as a whole. Works on a large scale under MGNREGS has a potential of creating
purchasing power of poor in rural India. The additional income would create demand for
commodities which in turn creates demand for capital, raw materials and workers. Thus the
additional wage income boosts the entire economy.

The most basic indicator of impact of MGNREGS is the employment received by the
households. While job cards have been issued to 76 percent estimated households, it is seen that
not all households have got work under MGNREGA. The MGNREGA is not only desirable from
a social or welfare perspective, it also provide very direct economic benefits because it is much
more effective in dealing with the economic situation of credit crunch and aggregate demand
slowdown.

Work given under MGNREGA is arduous, physically demanding and the main beneficiaries of
such work are the local rural economics through the contributions to infrastructure and land
productivity and the macroeconomy because of the effect of the wage incomes or aggregate
demand. However, MGNREGA potential has still not been achieved Capacity building and
administrative support at local government levels are key elements for better implementation of
MGNREGA.

The progression of a right based policy towards its successful implementation. It does so by
comparing the performance of the MGNREGA between the two states of Andhra Pradesh and
Bihar, India. The study argues that there are technical, historical and political factors that
determine the success of a right-based policy like the MGNREGA. On identifying the range of
such dynamics, the study concludes by offering the possible means by which these factors can be
controlled by whilst designing rights-based policies in the future.

The MGNREGA with respect to the extent of employment generation, wage differentials, rural
to urban migration, assets creation, determination of participants and implementation in five
districts of Maharashtra. The report indicates that the state has not been able show satisfactory
performance in term of employment generated and assets created. However, in place where it
was implemented well, there has been a positive impact on food security, reducing poverty and out-
migration. The impact of MGNREGS on households showed that the programme improved food
security by a significant reduction in the number of meals foregone by households per week. The
programme raised the probability of holding savings for a rural household by 21 percent and the
per capita amount saved increased by Rs. 18.6 also found out what was the alternative time use
of households if MGNREGA did not exist. The results show that in the initial years, the
programme predominantly attracted non-agricultural labour (78%).

This was because MGNREGA participation was concentrated in the dry summer months when
agriculture labour work is scarce. Overtime, however, they note that the programme is
predominantly attracting household that would have participated in agriculture labour (55.3%) if
the MGNREGA did not exist. This suggests broader labour market distortions where
MGNREGA is not just viewed as an employment assurance during slack agriculture season but
as an alternative to agriculture labour work.

Any Act has three types of impact on the society-short term, medium term and the long term. It
may also affect a given society at three levels-the value system, the institutions, and the
processes. MGNREGA is one of the most recent Act of India and have very limited empirical
evidences to present any observation regarding the medium term and long term effects.
Moreover we also have insufficient basis to discuss the nature of impact of this Act upon the
values or institutions in the State. But there are enough studies to help us in finding out the short
term as well as the procession aspects of the impact this step by the Indian state in the context of
empowerment of the rural poor particularly the more vulnerable sections of the society like
women, SCs and STs. The MGNREGA will have significant positive impact on seasonal rural-
urban migrations by providing employment to rural workers during the lean season. This will
reduce the problem of excessive population pressures in Indian cities as surplus rural labour will
find employment in their own districts. The MGNREGA may also have an impact on permanent
migrations trends.

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act: Progress Profile

The NREGA, which was launched with much fanfare on 2-2-06 to free India from poverty, has
completed one year of its implementation. It has among its beneficiaries 24.85% SCs, 34.63%
STs and 48.5% Women. Millions of person days of employment has been provided under the
programme through execution of about 2,30,000 works of which almost half have been
completed.

About 50% of the work is implemented by Gram Panchayat. Contractors and Machinery are out
of bounds from NREGA works which have to labour intensive. Care has been taken to dispense
with apprehensions expressed from time to time about slippage of NREGA funds or robbing the
poor workers of their hard earned wages.

The Minister of Rural Development said that even though there were a total of 3.47 crore Job
Cards which should have been given for every 1 00 days of employment, the number of people
who demanded jobs was only 1.51 crore. Out of these 1.51 crore, 1 .47 crore were provided
work, which means that 1 .47 crore man days should have been generated.

However only 53.64 crore man days generated. Thus there is a success rate of 33 % in providing
employment to the persons who demanded for job.
A. Impact on the Employment Generation and the Socio-Economic Profile

In order to fully understand the extent, nature and pattern of employment generation through
MGNREGA, a critical analysis of the issuance of the job cards, demand for employment by job
card holders, share of lower castes and gender in employment and the proportion of households
completing 100 days of employment in MGNREGA activities is important. The examination of
such progress year will further add value to the analysis. In Punjab, a cumulative number of more
than 10 lakh job cards were issued by 2013-14.

The number of job cards issued was 6.36 lakh by 2008-09 which then increased substantially to
about 8.05 lakh by 2009-10 (an increase of more than 26 per cent). There was a small increase of
2.63 per cent in the number of job cards issues during 2009-10 to 2010-11.

The proportion of scheduled caste households in the total number of job cards issued always
remained above 76 per cent and that of other households around 23 per cent. It reflects that job
cards are being issued largely to the poor rural households with larger concentration of the
scheduled castes but even the other poor also seemed to get the job cards issued for getting
assured wage employment for 100 days. The total persondays employment generated 10.98 crore
during the financial year 2013-14 and the same year 4 lakh household provided employment by
the MGNREGA in the State of Punjab.

B.Impact on Poverty

The most important feature of the Act is that it is inclusive in nature as a result of the basic
objective and vision of the Act. The Act targeted the growth and development of the economy
with the aims of poverty reduction among the rural people through employment generation. The
Act not says about only employment generation, but guarantees all the rural people without
distinction of below poverty line, for at least 100 days. The Act for employment generation is
certainly distinct from earlier employment generation schemes which never given a legal right to
demand employment from the government.

The following goals of the MGNREGA bring into being the rural people inclusive.
1. Social protection for the most vulnerable people living in India.
 2. Livelihood Security for the poor through creation of durable assets, improved water
security, soil conservation and higher land productivity.

3. Drought proofing and food management in rural India.

4. Empowerment of the socially disadvantaged, especially women, scheduled castes and

scheduled tribes, through the process of a rights–based legislation.

5. Strengthening decentralized, participatory planning through convergence of various

anti-poverty and livelihoods initiatives.

6. Deepening democracy at the grass-roots by strengthening Panchayat Raj Institutions.

7. Effecting greater transparency and accountability in governance.

C. Impact on additional wage income

The direct impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act can be seen
on the workers in the scheme who are the poorest of the poor. These households do not have
enough assets or base to have sustainable livelihood. MGNREGA has provisions for providing
each household with an additional 100 daysof guaranteed employment.

The implementation of under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Aat
during current year is higher than the previous year. During financial year 2013-14 the total
household are provided employment 4.82 and total person days are generated 109.89 lakhs.
However, the estimates of the last fiscal year show that on an average the households have got
31.8 person days of work. The phase wise estimates of the additional days of work that the
households have got are shown in the table below. These additional person days of work has
provided an additional income to the households by working in the village itself. The estimates
reveal that there has been an increase of Rs 1881 as additional income from working in
MGNREGS.

The year wise average per household is also shown in the above table. The additional income has
been used for varied purposes. However the amount is so meagre that most of it gets spent on
food and healthcare. It can be seen that most of the households (81.1%) have said that the
additional income gets consumed in meeting the food requirement of household. Healthcare
expenditure was identified as the next major expenditure (55.2%) followed by clothes (40.8%)
and education (32.5%). It can be seen that items like asset creation (2.5%), debt repayment
(19.6%) etc are further down the order. It is evident that workers are able to get only enough
money as wages to meet their regular needs. The savings of the workers are not enough to make
them able to acquire or maintain assets or even debt repayment.

D.Impact on Migration

One of the objectives of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is to
reduce distress migration. Such reduction could also be seen as an indicator of successful
implementation and optimism in MGNREGA ability to stimulate development within the village.
Although some households or individuals may migrate long distances to other States, the
dominant type of migration observed in this study was short distance migration to neighbouring
urban or peri-urban areas. Fieldwork explored this aspect to some extent and it emerged that such
migration continues, with 40 per cent of households reporting migrant members in December
2009. About 70 per cent of households with migrant members reported receiving remittances.
Similarly, no clear evidence was seen in Himachal that the MGNREGA has had an impact in
stalling inter-State migration, although in some villages visited during fieldwork it was reported
that when Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act works were open men
put off the decision to migrate or went for shorter periods. One of the interviewees pointed out
that he had stopped migrating because he was able to get MGNREGS work, and that although
these wages were lower, it was cheaper to stay at home. In the area surveyed in Kerala, there
was seen to be a similar process of migration to neighbouring areas, again largely by men.

E. Overall economic Impact of MGNREGA

This section is trying to bring out the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act scheme on various important attributes which contribute to the enhancement of
quality of life such as;

(i) income levels before and after the scheme in vogue,

(ii) status of loans outstanding against the beneficiaries at the time of enquiry,
(iii) shift in means of livelihood
shift in expenditure pattern on food items after income generation through the present
scheme,
(iv) acquisition of movable and immovable assets by the beneficiaries during the year of
implementation of the scheme,
(v) details of livestock creation prior to and after utilizing the scheme.

Reported income before and after joining the scheme by respondents depicts the positive change
brought out by MGNREGA in the economic condition of beneficiaries. It is evident from a sharp
decline in percentage of respondents with income less than 2000 from 49 percent to 20 percent
and rise in percentage of respondents with income 2000-5000 from 50 percent to 79 percent
prior to and after the scheme. Repayment of outstanding loans/ debts is been facilitated by
MGNREGA. A large proportion of respondents were indebted to money lenders and many of
them reported that they could repay their debts partially from their Mahatma Guarantee National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act income. But at the same time some respondents are still not
able to clear off their outstanding debts and majority of them belong to a tribal area where
several issues like nonpayment of wages at time was reported largely.

Propensity to labour work as a mean of livelihood is evident from this study. A noticeable shift
is reported by samples from agriculture and farm labour to labour work as their prime mean of
livelihood. This is mainly due to the direct impact of wage employment under this scheme. But
no concordance exists among respondents regarding continuous availability of this opportunity.
Expenditure pattern of beneficiaries on non food items before and after the scheme documents no
significant difference in this study.

F.Impact of MGNREGA on Women

Women dominate Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act worksites in all
States. Women mostly do the MGNREGA work since the wages are exceedingly low and men
prefer to go out of the village for work, while women need to remain closer home to fulfill their
household responsibilities. Most women at the MGNREGA worksites earned a wage of Rs. 25 to
50 per day, paid in cash. A majority of them had got work for 4-10 days, which was inadequate.
They earned far less than promised due to the shortfall in measurement.

The MGNREGA has the potential of addressing women‟s practical needs through wage
employment and the creation of assets that address basic needs of food, water, fuel, fodder, etc. It
can also address their strategic needs by improving their status and structured involvement in
local area development and better intrafamily division of work.

For this, community based women‟s groups play a very important role. This can help in the more
confident and effective expression of needs and affect the selection of works. The greater status
brought about through income can combine with the self-confidence brought about by collectives
and interaction to undermine social barriers.

I have found examples of this in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, we came across
SHGs that collectively applied for work and even put up Project proposals for sanction under the
MGNREGS. In Tamil Nadu, association in SHGs gave landless Dalit women the confidence o
stand up to the might of upper caste landed Sarpanches on the issue of wages and beggar.

There are three provisions in the MGNREGA that were specifically included into the act with a
view to ensuring and improving access to the benefits of the scheme by rural women.

 priority for women in the ratio of 1/3rd of total workers employed

 equal wages for men and
 women crèches for the children of women workers

CONCLUSION

MGNREGA aimed at uplifting people below the poverty line. On the basis of primary survey of
the programme from the Punjab it was found that on the whole programme is quite successful in
meeting the aspiration of the poor beneficiaries in Punjab. The data indicates that rural
connectivity, water conservation, water harvesting, drought proofing and cleaning of village
ponds were the major employment activity under MGNREGA. MGNREGA is an important
work opportunities for women who would have otherwise remained unemployed or
underemployed. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme
(MGNREGP) in India that was launched in the year 2005 as a social security measure aimed at
providing employment security to the poor in villages.

The MGNREGA was also meant to use this labour to construct rural infrastructure that is clearly
wanting in India. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act guarantee 100 days of work to
all households. The aspect of MGNREGA where it can be used to curb rural-urban migration is
conditional on that it is being implemented well in that region, otherwise if work is not supplied
if wages aren‟t paid on time and if money is just being siphoned off , then workers will have no
incentive to stop migration.

However it should be clear that the primary aim of the Act is to provide welfare for the section of
the population that does not even earn the minimum wage –the fact that it can also curb distress
migration is just a positive secondary impact of the Act. Therefore if it can be used to curb rural
–urban migration then it will be yet another benefit from this Act, which can actually do
something concrete in poverty alleviation and rural development in the long run. The direct and
indirect benefits have to some (and varying) extent mitigated the rural distress and agrarian
crisis.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act has at least halted the
tendency of growth by-passing poor regions and people since it is a more universal, inclusive and
labour-intensive strategy. It has promoted livelihood security through the creation of
remunerative employment; reduction in distress out-migration; improvement in labour contracts
and conditions of credit access; improvement in nutrition, etc.; regeneration of common property
resources. It is poised to generate broad-based growth due to asset creation; soil moisture
conservation; land improvement and the multiplier effects of demand creation. It has also given
an impetus to democratic and decentralized planning and development by giving a principle role
to PRIs in planning and implementation; the greater availability of finances with PRIs; central
role of Gram Sabhas in selection, monitoring and audit of works and some empowerment of
women.