MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) has had both benefits and challenges in its 10 years of implementation. It has benefited rural communities by increasing days of water availability, irrigation quantity, area under cultivation and reducing poverty levels among disadvantaged groups. However, it still faces challenges like large delays in wage payments, low skill development of workers, and asset creation that is not always productive. Moving forward, there is a need to better link MGNREGA with other programs, skill workers, use technology to increase accountability and ensure funds are reaching the most vulnerable communities as intended by the scheme.

1. 10 years of MGNREGA - An Assessment
CHALLENGES
BENEFITS
CONVERGENCE with related programmes in
the department of agriculture,irrigation,animal
husbandry and road transport
Skilling of the MGNREGA workers
in conjunction with the Deen Dayal
Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya
Yojana (DDU-GKY) and NRLM - to
acquire vertical mobility
Use of IT and community-based
accountability mechanisms
like social audits to
fight corruption
Develop a cadre of trainers/experts for
effective implementation
Linking with the
Socio-Economic Caste
Census to
ensure better targeting
WAY FORWARD
large-scale delay
in payments of wages
low
skill development
Asset creation
is not productive
increased the number of days
water is available in a year
quantity of water available for
irrigation
changes in crop patterns
increased area under cultivation
improvement in
water-related assets
created under MGNREGA
reduced poverty level among
SCs & STs by 38 % and 28 %
respectively
more than half the
jobs going to women
workers (57%)
57%
almost a third of jobs to
members of SCs & STs
1/3
Rural wages
started climbing
decline in migration
to urban centres
According to NCAER study,poverty
lowered by almost 32 per cent
between 2004-05 to 2011-12
revitalized the labour market in rural areas
MGNREGA as a safety net
untied funds to
execute these works
gram sabhas have the
mandate to plan
their own works
EMPOWERED
GRAM
PANCHAYATS
Since 2008,entire country
except for districts having
100 % urban population
Ministry of Rural
Development (MRD),
in association with
state governments
COVERAGE?
WHO MONITORS THE
SCHEME?
What is MGNREGA?
Indian Labour law
Social security measure
Aims to guarantee“right to work”
Work to adult members of
any rural household
At statutory minimum wage
100 days of employment
Public work related unskilled
manual work,divided in 10 broad
categories
65% of the works taken up under
the program are linked to
agriculture and allied activities
WHAT KIND OF WORK?
World Development Report 2014 has
described the MGNREGA as a
"stellar example of rural development".
Based on CAG report
from 2009-10 to 2011-12,only 20 % of total funds allocated
under the scheme has been released for Bihar,Maharashtra
and Uttar Pradesh where almost 46 % of India's rural
poor reside
found rampant corruption and swindling of public funds
around Rs 2,252 crore of inadmissible work was
undertaken under MGNREGA including construction of
earthen roads,bathing Ghats,raised platforms for cattle etc.