The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), the flagship rural employment Scheme of the Government of India, was launched in February 2006. It is perhaps the largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world.

Six years after its implementation, the basic principles and high potential of the MGNREGA are well established. The fact that about one-fourth (25 per cent) of all rural households in the country participate in the programme every year, is testimony to its resounding popularity.

Since its inception, around Rs 110,000 crore has gone directly as wage payment to rural households, and 1,200 core person-days of employment have been generated. MGNREGA with its demand-driven design, rights-based structure and unprecedented scale has attracted the attention of several scholars, researchers, social activists, and policymakers and analysts around the world. This anthology is a synthesis of over a hundred studies on MGNREGA, its impact and implementation. It provides a readable summary of these studies and popularly expressed concerns. It also seeks to identify unanswered questions on both the impact and potential of MGNREGA that will require further research. The report is objective in identifying both the positive impact of the Scheme as well as the constraints that limit MGNREGA’s effective implementation.

There is a thread of optimism that runs through the chapters—the conviction that MGNREGA, if implemented effectively, can create vital rural infrastructure and address social and economic development concerns that will be sustainable.

MGNREGA Sameeksha will be a useful reference and resource for policymakers, academics, journalists, civil society organisations, social activists and general readers.

List of Tables, Figures and Boxes
Foreword by Shri Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
Objectives and Salient Features
Mandate and Objectives
Coverage
Salient Features of the Act
A Paradigm Shift
Performance of MGNREGA

Chapter 1: Income and Livelihood Security
Impact on Poverty and Deprivation
MGNREGA and Market Wages
Participation of Marginalised Communities
Works on Private Lands of the Marginalised

Chapter 2: Gender and Social Empowerment
Women Participation in MGNREGA
Reduced Differential Wages and Wage Parity
Economic Independence and Empowerment of Women
Role of Self-help Groups and Community-based Organisations
MGNREGA, Gender and Ecology

Chapter 3: Sustainable Asset Creation
Quality and Durability of Assets
Work Completion Rate
Work on Private Lands and Public Lands
Multiple Uses of MGNREGA Assets
Leveraging MGNREGA for Sustainable Development

Chapter 4: Environment Services and Agricultural Productivity
Enhancement of Environmental Services
Creation of Green Jobs
Agricultural Production and Productivity

Chapter 5: Labour Market and Migration
Impact on Agricultural Labour
Increase in Bargaining Power and Choice of Work
Migration

Chapter 6: Governance and Process Challenges
Awareness and Planning
Demand for Work and Unemployment Allowance
Timely and Full Payment of Wages
Leakages and Misappropriations in the Scheme
Transparency and Accountability
Accuracy of Management Information System (MIS) and Monthly Progress Report Data

Chapter 7: Recent Initiatives to Strengthen MGNREGA
List of Permissible Works Expanded
Ensuring the Demand-based Character of MGNREGA
Effective Planning
Deployment of Human Resources
Reducing Delays in Wage Payments
Strengthening MIS
Equal Opportunity for Vulnerable Groups
Greater Role for Civil Society Organisations
Better Social Audits and Vigilance for Transparency and Accountability

Bibliography