National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Key Features of MGNREGA

▪ MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world.
▪ Objective: The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of
employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing
to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
▪ Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at
addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
o At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
o Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified
for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act,
1948.
▪ Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its
legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding
it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
o This demand-driven scheme enables the self-selection of workers.
▪ Decentralised planning: There is an emphasis on strengthening the process of
decentralisation by giving a significant role in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in
planning and implementing these works.
o The act mandates Gram sabhas to recommend the works that are to be
undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.
Underlying Challenges
▪ Inadequate Financing: This year’s allocation is the highest allocation for
MGNREGA in any year since the passage of the law.
o However, the allocation amounts to 0.47% of the GDP continues to be
much lower than the World Bank recommendations of 1.7% of GDP for
the optimal functioning of the programme.
o Due to lack of funds, state governments find it difficult to meet the demand
for employment under MGNREGA.
▪ Delay in Payment of wages: Most states have failed to disburse wages within 15 days
as mandated by MGNREGA. In addition, workers are not compensated for a delay in
payment of wages.
o This has turned the scheme into a supply-based programme and
subsequently, workers had begun to lose interest in working under it.
▪ Ineffective Role of PRI: With very little autonomy, gram panchayats are not able to
implement this act in an effective and efficient manner.
▪ Large Number of Incomplete works: There has been a delay in the completion of
works under MGNREGA and inspection of projects has been irregular. Also, there is
an issue of quality of work and asset creation under MGNREGA.
▪ Fabrication of Job cards: There are several issues related to the existence of fake job
cards, the inclusion of fictitious names, missing entries and delays in making entries
in job cards.
Way Forward
Short-Term Measures
▪ State governments must ensure that public work gets started in every village. Workers
turning up at the worksite should be provided work immediately, without much delay.

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▪ Local bodies must proactively reach out to returned and quarantined migrant workers
and help those in need to get job cards.
▪ Adequate facilities such as soap, water, and masks for workers must be provided free
of cost, at the worksite.
▪ At this time, there is a need to speed up the payments to MGNREGA workers.
Preferably, cash needs to reach the workers easily and efficiently.
Long-Term Measures
▪ The pandemic has demonstrated the importance of decentralised governance.
o Gram panchayats need to be provided with adequate resources, powers, and
responsibilities to sanction works, provide work on demand, and authorise
wage payments to ensure there are no delays in payments.
▪ MGNREGA should be converged with other schemes of the government. For
example, Green India initiative, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc.
▪ Social Auditing creates accountability of performance, especially towards immediate
stakeholders. Hence, there is a need to to create awareness regarding government
policies and measures in rural areas.
MGNREGA is a bottom-up, people-centred, demand-driven, self-selecting and rights-based
programme. Thus, MGNREGA remains crucial for integrated resource management and
livelihoods generation perspective.
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MGNREGA Full Form Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Act

When the MGNREGA 2nd February 2006

Scheme officially The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
launched? Guarantee Act was passed on 23rd August 2005

What was MGNREGA It was known to be National Rural Employment Guarantee

earlier called? Act

Are MGNREGS and MGNREGS is a scheme which is based on the MGNREGA

MGNREGA the same? (Act)

Number of Districts As of 11th February 2021; 708 districts are covered

covered under the
MGNREGA Scheme?

Key Stakeholders under • Wage seekers

MGNREGA • Gram Sabha (GS)

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 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
• Three-tier Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
• Programme Officer at the Block level
• District Programme Coordinator (DPC)
• State Government
• Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD)
• Civil Society
• Other stakeholders (In line departments,
convergence departments, Self-Help Groups (SHGs)

What is MGNREGA Job It is a document that renders a worker entitled for work
Card? under the MGNREGA Scheme

Mandate of Mahatma Provision of at least 100 days of work that provides

Gandhi NREGS guaranteed wage in a financial year

MGNREGA Official https://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx

Website

MGNREGA History:
In 1991, the P.V Narashima Rao government proposed a pilot scheme for generating
employment in rural areas with the following goals:
• Employment Generation for agricultural labour during the lean season.
• Infrastructure Development
• Enhanced Food Security
This scheme was called the Employment Assurance Scheme which later evolved into the
MGNREGA after the merger with the Food for Work Programme in the early 2000s.
Objectives of MGNREGA:
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has the
following objectives:
• Provide 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to rural unskilled labour
• Increase economic security
• Decrease migration of labour from rural to urban areas
MGNREGA differentiates itself from earlier welfare schemes by taking a grassroots-driven
approach to employment generation. The programs under the act are demand-driven and provide
legal provisions for appeal in the case, work is not provided or payments are delayed. The
scheme is funded by the central government which bears the full cost of unskilled labour and
75% of the cost of material for works undertaken under this law. The central and state
governments audit the works undertaken under this act through annual reports prepared by
CEGC (Central Employment Guarantee Council) and the SEGC (State Employment Guarantee
Councils). These reports have to be presented by the incumbent government in the legislature.

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 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
A few salient features of the scheme are:
• It gives a significant amount of control to the Gram Panchayats for managing public
works, strengthening Panchayati Raj Institutions. Gram Sabhas are free to accept or reject
recommendations from Intermediate and District Panchayats.
• It incorporates accountability in its operational guidelines and ensures compliance and
transparency at all levels.
Ever since the scheme was implemented, the number of jobs has increased by 240% in the past
10 years. The scheme has been successful in enhancing economic empowerment in rural India
and helping overcome the exploitation of labour. The scheme has also diminished wage volatility
and the gender pay gap in labour. This can be substantiated the by the following data available at
the official site of MGNREGA:
1. 14.88 crores MGNREGA job cards have been issued (Active Job Cards – 9.3 crores)
2. 28.83 crores workers who gained employed under MGNREGA (2020-21) out of which
active workers are 14.49 crores.
What is the role of Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayat in
MGNREGS?
The role of Gram Sabha in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
is tabled below:

Role of Gram Sabha in MGNREGS

It lists down the works priority-wise w.r.t the potential of the local area

It monitors the work executed within the Gram Panchayat

It acts as the primary forum for the social audits

It also works as a platform to resolve all workers’ queries related to any MGNREGA work

The role of Gram Panchayat in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme is tabled below:

Role of Gram Panchayat

It is authorized with the role to receive the job applications

After receiving the applications, it is responsible to verify them

All household are registered by the Gram Panchayat

The MGNREGS job cards are issued by the Gram Panchayat

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 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
It is responsible to allot work within 15 days from the application submission

It prepares an annual report that covers the achievement of the scheme

It holds Rozgar Diwas at every ward once a month

Role of State Governments in MGNREGS

The important roles of the state government in executing the MGNREGA scheme are:
1. It frames rules charting out state’s responsibility under the act.
2. It sets up the State Employment Guarantee Council.
3. State Employment Guarantee Fund (SEGF) is established by state governments.
4. It makes sure to dedicate Employment Guarantee Assistant (Gram Rozgar Sahayak), the
PO and the staff at State, district, cluster and Gram Panchayat level; for the execution of
the scheme.
MGNREGA – State Employment Guarantee Council
(SEGC)
The State Employment Guarantee Council is responsible to advise state government for the
implementation of the MGNREG scheme. Some important functions of SEGC under MNREGS
are:
1. The suggestion of improvements in the execution of the scheme.
2. Evaluation and monitoring of the scheme.
3. To recommend proposals of the works to the central government.
4. To aware the districts about the scheme and its features.
5. To prepare an annual report to be submitted by the state government before the state
legislature.

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