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• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNERGA) has been a crucial step towards employment generation and thus rural poverty alleviation. In this context, states the achievements and limitations of the MGNERGA Scheme in India.

08-04-2023

Q: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNERGA) has been a crucial step towards employment generation and thus rural poverty alleviation. In this context, states the achievements and limitations of the MGNERGA Scheme in India.

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Answer :

 Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 provided a framework for the world’s biggest employment guarantee scheme with recognition of a legalized right to work for 100 days, based on the demand of any rural adult failing which an unemployment allowance is to be provided. This ensures employment to the rural youth and helps in poverty eradication through adequate economic activity in rural India.

To further ensure its effective implementation, the Union government has recently decided to make digital technology universal for capturing worker’s attendance.

• Poverty Alleviation: According to the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) and NCAER 2021 report, MGNERGS reduced poverty by up to 32% from 2004-05 to 2011-12.
• De-centralized planning by Panchayati Raj Institutions to help plan at a local level as people’s priorities along with the provision of social audits empowering people.
• Main driver for water conservation at a local as 143 lakh hectares of land benefitted between 2014 to 2018 as per the NREGA portal.
• SECURE: SECURE is an online application designed and developed specially for the estimate preparation and approval for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA works.
• Emphasis on Social Audit: In association with the office of Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG), the auditing standards have been finalized and the implementation of the same has started. Social Audit Units have been established in 27 States and 1 UT.
• Skill Development: The project “UNNATI” intends to upgrade the skill-base of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS workers, and thereby improve their livelihoods, so that they can move from the current partial employment to full employment.

• Low wage rates result in lack of interest among workers. In 2018, wages in 17 states were less than their corresponding minimum wages.
• Insufficient budget allocation: As per PAEG (people’s Action for Employment Guarantee), budget allocation for MGNERGA in 2022 was 34% less than the revised budget for 2020-21.
• Regular payment delays such as in the processing of Fund Transfer Orders, which are not considered delays in Management Information System (MIS). Caste based payments in 2021 due to central government circular further created a furor. Such delays affect people’s trust.
• Technology and accountability: Allegations of faulty MIS data, fake job cards and fictitious names, thus accountability not being ensured with a centralized use of technology.

These limitations create roadblocks in uplifting rural areas from poverty by ensuring employment. Thus, recent steps taken by the government to tackle these limitations:

• Formation of a 9-member panel by the center to study governance issues, and performance of states alongside examining factors affecting demand for wage employment in MGNERGA.
• Geotagging of assets created in real-time to check over corruption.

Moreover, local people should be empowered to regularly conduct social audits. Convergence with the Green India Initiative, skill development initiatives can be deliberated upon to further improve workforce quality as well as integrate social justice and sustainable development.