CONCEPT – MNREGA - MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

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 CONCEPT – MNREGA - MAHATMA GANDHI NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT

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• What it is: It is a right to work scheme, where employment can be demanded to secure livelihood in rural areas. The scheme was launched by UPA govt. in 2006, and initially slowed down by NDA from 2014, but then expanded again. Annual budget is more than Rs.60,000 crore.
• Details:

1. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (and Scheme - statewise) is an employment scheme to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed demand based wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. (the actual days per year is far less than 100)
2. An additional 50 days of wage employment are provided over and above 100 days in the notified drought affected areas or natural calamity areas in the country on recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Ministry also mandates the provision of additional 50 days of wage employment to every Scheduled Tribe Household in a forest area, provided that these households have no other private property except for the land rights provided under the FRA Act, 2006.
3. Beneficiaries are willing rural population, unskilled manual labourers and seasonally unemployed. A 60:40 wage and material ratio has to be maintained, so that mainly funds are spent on workers' wages.
4. No contractors and machinery is allowed. Wages are linked to Consumer Price Index (Agriculture labour). (the real wages paid are way below market rates)
5. The central government bears the 100% wage cost of unskilled manual labour and 75% of the material cost including the wages of skilled and semi-skilled workers.
6. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. MGNREGA is implemented mainly by gram panchayats. At least one-third beneficiaries shall be women. Social audit has to be done by the gram sabha atleast once in every 6 months.
7. It focuses on creation of durable assets as per local needs.

• 2020 Update: The Ministry is working towards enhancing water conservation in rural areas through Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. Two major programmes- Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) and 100 Days Programme-completion of Natural Resource Management (NRM) works - were launched to augment the focus on taking up water related works. These programmes ensured time-bound mission-mode impetus on water conservation. 

1. 1,220 water stressed blocks were targeted for water conservation in a project mode from 1st July to 15th September, 2019 (Phase I) and 1st October to 30th November, 2019 (Phase II). An expenditure of Rs. 3,158.91 crore was incurred in completion of 3.12 lakh works.
2. A 100 Days programme for Completion of NRM Works was also taken up. A focused approach was followed for completeing 12.47 lakh water works.
3. Overall - Person-days Generated in 2019 were 249.65 crore, and Fund released to States/UTs were Rs.65,961 crore. The Women Participation rate was 56%.

• Sad part: As per government data, the average days of employment provided per household under MGNREGA between FY16 to FY19 was just 47, which is not even half of the 100 days of guaranteed work. The average days of employment provided per household was 48.85 in FY 2015-16, 46 in FY 2016-17, 45.69 in FY 2017-18 and 50.48 in FY 2018-19 which averages out to 47.75 in these 4 years.
• Criticism: Many have criticised the scheme for not creating durable and useful physical assets. Various govt. efforts have gone into removing that problem, and also to get convergence across schemes from various Ministries.

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