The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005

1. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005 An overview of features and current debates 21/01/2013

2. Contents • Rationale • History • Overview of the Act- Processes and Design Features • Implementation and Performance- Some indicators

3. Rationale

4. History • The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme (MEGS) 1972 • Food for Work Programme FWP 1977 • SampoornaGrameenRozgarYojana SGRY 2001 • National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) 2004

6. Introduction to the Act • Notified on 7th September 2005 and implemented in three phases • Mandate: The Act mandates enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employmentin a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. • Objectives: • Primary: augmenting wage employment for the poorest of the poor • Secondary: strengthening natural resource management and encouraging sustainable development

7. Processes-1 Application for job card Selection of Works Issue of job card Approval of projects Demand for Employment Informing the PRIs Preparation of estimates Work allocation and maintenance of muster rolls Social Audit Work measurement Payment of Wages

8. Processes- 2 Implementation Funding

9. Design Features

10. Other on- going debates • Is it an irreversible guarantee? Should not the guarantee be unlimited? • Private works v/s Public works • Convergence • Full legal safeguards? • Long term strategy or short term solution? • Centre- State issues

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12. Performance graph-1 However, in 2009-10, of all the rural households that applied work under the MGNREGA, 44 per cent did not get any work (5.3 crore HHs were provided employment). In the same years, the average person days per employed HH were 54 days while in the next year, 47 days. <back>

13. Performance graph- 2 <back>

14. MGNREGA notified wages and Min Wages Act 1948 (in Rs.) <back>

15. No. of Active Bank/PO Accounts in 2011-12 72 per cent of wages were disbursed either through bank accounts (53 per cent) or PO accounts (19 per cent)

16. Unemployment Allowance in 2010-11 • No. of days for which allowance is due: 2185024 • No. of days for which allowance is paid: 514 • Total Amount paid: Rs.123589 which is approxRs. 240 per day <back>

17. Inter-State variation in women’s participation <back>