Answer: The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA 2005) gives a minimum of 100 days of wage-employment to rural adult population who volunteer to do unskilled work. Under this scheme, job cards are provided to poor families with the aim of enhancing livelihood security. The NREGA job cards are prepared every year by the Ministry of Rural Development. Every year some new names are added to the MGNREGA scheme being run by the central government and some names are removed from the list if they do not meet the criteria.
The estimated average cost per day per person for the scheme for this year (2020) is Rs 296.34. This will mean that this year on an average around 25 crore person-days of work can be provided under the scheme depending upon the demand each month. The scheme enables Gram Panchayats to develop rural infrastructure through decentralized planning at the village level. The works have been divided into ten broad categories like Watershed (Water conservation and water harvesting), Irrigation and Flood management works (including afforestation and tree plantation)), Agricultural and Livestock related works, Fisheries and works in coastal areas and the Rural Drinking water and Sanitation related works.
Any improvement in village such as irrigation facility, fisheries, cattle rearing due to more availability of fodder & water etc. ensures more employment to the landless in rural areas given by the rich villagers. Thus, employment through MGNREGA spurns more employment in future for the rural folks. It also improves productivity of village.
When an adult gets work in rural areas, he contributes in betterment of his village. Employment in village even for less days is worthwhile because the rural unemployed does not have to spend on house rent and travelling (if he migrates to a city instead). The PDS distributes grains to people at Rs 2/3 per kg. Hence, the leftover money is utilised in buying essential goods. At micro level, this buying appears miniscule. However, even if half the money distributed under MGNREGA goes on circulation to buy essentials, more than fifty lakh crore worth of goods will be sold. This keeps small shopkeepers into business. Thus distributers, salesman, goods carriers, drivers of trucks….. so many people find employment. This is how large number of consumers spurn the economy of our country.
The way forward, is to improve the buying power of every Indian by providing work to maximum people. At the same time we have to ensure development in villages so that migration to cities is stopped.
Note:
- The name of NREGA was changed to MGNREGA in 2009.
- The 2020-21 Union Budget had allocated around Rs 61,500 for the MGNREGS. Of this, around Rs 23,119 crore, almost 38 per cent, has been released by the Centre to the states in the first 45 days of 2020-21.
- To provide work to migrants returning from cities to villages (due to the pandemic), the Central government provided an additional Rs 40,000 crore to the MGNREGS for 2020-21, which will take the scheme’s allocation for the year to Rs 101500 crore.
- The implementation of direct benefit transfer (DBT) to bank accounts, has ensured a 160% increase in payments (under MGNREGA) generated within 15 days of the completion of every project from FY16 to FY20.
- The funds allotted under other premier flagship schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) and the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY), welfare schemes for roads and housing respectively in rural areas, have also increased this year.