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MGNREGA: A scheme that changing the face of Rural India

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National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) enacted by legislation on September 7, 2005, and it was renamed as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on 2nd October 2009. An Act to provide for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment for each worker who volunteers for unskilled labour in every financial year. Mahatma Gandhi Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) 2005, is Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'.

         MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The involvement of contractors is banned. Apart from providing economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering social equity, among others. There are currently 13.77 crore job card(JC) holders registered under MGNREGA. Among this 7.69 crore are active JC holders(2020). The central government pays for 100% of the wage and 75% of the material expenditure under this scheme. 

            Assuming the average daily wage rate of Rs 202.39 for 2020-21, for 100 days of employment. It would mean a payment of more than Rs 2.79 lakh crore should all the registered JC holders seek work. The government of India allocated Rs 60000 crore in the financial budget 2020-21 under this scheme. The government will now allocate an additional Rs 40000 crore under MGNREGA(COVIDRelief-Package). 

The law also lists permissible works: water conservation and water harvesting; drought proofing; irrigation works; restoration of traditional water bodies; land development; flood control; rural connectivity; and works notified by the government.

Women's Empowerment: The empowerment of rural women is crucial for the development of rural Bharat. In the words “empowering women is a precondition for creating a good nation, when women are empowered, a society with stability is assured”. The MGNREGA has a positive impact on the empowerment and employment pattern of women in recent years.MGNREGA consist of at least one-third of persons to whom work is allotted has to be women. It aims at enhancing livelihood security by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every rural household, especially for women. MGNREGA has become a powerful instrument for women empowerment in rural India through its effect on livelihood security and democratic governance and social protections Wage equality for men and women helps to reduce the gender difference to some extent. 

Effect on Migration:  One of the objectives of the MGNREGA is to reduce distress migration. The MGNREGA will have a 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. It would perhaps never be possible to contain migration; however, schemes like MGNREGS have the potential to reduce distress migration.

Impact on Economic Development: Economic development refers to increases in the standard of living of a nation’s population associated with sustained growth from a simple, low-income economy to a modern, high-income economy. Its scope includes the process and policies by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people. This section is trying to bring out the impact of MGNREGA scheme on various important attributes which contribute to the enhancement of quality of life such as-                                                                

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

           (2).  a shift in means of livelihood, 

           (3).  a shift in expenditure pattern on food items after income generation through the present scheme, 

          (4). expenditure pattern on non-food items before and after the implementation of the scheme.

Impact on Poverty: 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 only says about employment generation but guarantees all the rural people for at least 100 days.

          In this pandemic of Covid-19, it could see a surge in the number of people seeking work under MGNREGA. Because of the return of several migrant labourers from the urban areas to their villages, after COVID-19 induced lockdown that resulted in widespread job losses. 

           The above observations indicate that the role of the MGNREGA on overall poverty reduction and development of rural India is visible. Rural development is the need of the hour. It not only constitutes the development of rural regions but also aims at improving the well-being and quality of life to the rural poor through the collective process. It is clear from the review that though this programme is meant for improving the living conditions of the people in rural settings but this programme suffers from a number of shortcomings. There were deficiencies in the approval and release of funds by the ministry. The ministry needs to take decisive steps to ensure proper implementation of the scheme. 



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