Governance
MGNREGS
- 04 Dec 2024
- 10 min read
Key Points
|
About MGNREGA Scheme
- Legal Right to Work: The MGNREGA Act (2005) guarantees 100 days of wage employment for rural households, ensuring unskilled manual labor as a legal right and promoting livelihood security.
- It also provides an additional 50 days of employment in drought or calamity-affected areas, fostering rural development through public works.
- Coverage: The scheme covers the entire country, excluding districts with 100% urban populations, thereby focusing solely on rural areas for creating sustainable livelihood opportunities.
- Demand-Driven Framework: Employment under the scheme is provided on demand, ensuring that rural households can self-select work.
- If employment is not granted within 15 days of request, beneficiaries are entitled to an unemployment allowance.
- The unemployment allowance is one-fourth of the minimum wage for the first 30 days and half of the minimum wage thereafter.
- Decentralized Planning: The scheme emphasizes grassroots-level planning by giving significant roles to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
- At least 50% of the works under the scheme must be executed by Gram Panchayats based on recommendations from the Gram Sabha.
What are the Other Key Features of the MGNREGA Scheme?
- Fund Sharing: The Central Government funds 100% of unskilled labor costs and 75% of material costs.
- State Governments contribute 25% of material costs, ensuring cooperative federalism for scheme implementation.
- Wage Payment Mechanism: Wages are determined based on the quality of work performed and linked to rates specified by the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
- Payments are made directly to workers' bank accounts or Aadhaar-linked accounts, ensuring transparency.
- Individuals are entitled to receive compensation for delayed payment at a rate of 0.05% of the unpaid wages per day, starting from the 16th day after the closure of the muster roll (list of workers).
- Accident Compensation: Beneficiaries injured during work are eligible for compensation, and in case of death or permanent disability due to worksite accidents, ex-gratia payments are made to families.
- Focus on Women Empowerment: A minimum of one-third of the beneficiaries under MGNREGA must be women.
- This provision empowers women by offering them equal access to wages and work opportunities.
- Special Provisions for Vulnerable Groups:
- In forested areas, tribal households without private property other than land rights under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, are eligible for additional employment benefits.
- State Governments may extend workdays beyond the guaranteed period using state funds.
.png)
What are the Components of the MGNREGA Scheme?
- Scheme Components:
- Project Unnati: Project 'UNNATI' aims to upskill MGNREGA beneficiaries, helping them transition from partial to full-time employment and reducing their dependence on the scheme.
- The project trains one adult per household (18-45 years) with 100 days of MGNREGA work, providing a stipend for up to 100 days, fully funded by the Central Government.
- Cluster Facilitation Project (CFP): The CFP aims to provide rural livelihoods under MGNREGA in aspirational and backward districts, targeting 250 blocks from 117 aspirational districts and 50 from other backward areas.
- The project focuses on poverty alleviation through convergence with government programs and leveraging CSR, philanthropic organisations, and think tanks, led by the District Programme Coordinator (DPC).
- Barefoot Technician (BFT): The BFT Project, launched in FY 2015-16, trains local MGNREGA workers or supervisors in 20 states in civil engineering skills for identifying, estimating, and measuring works under MGNREGA.
- The 90-day residential training, using a module in English and Hindi, covers topics such as MGNREGA features, construction of rural roads, measurement techniques, and relevant documents.
- Ombudsperson: As per the MGNREGA Act 2005, an Ombudsperson is appointed in each district to handle grievances, investigate, and issue awards.
- States must ensure complaints are received both electronically and physically, with receipts provided to complainants.
- Awareness measures include displaying the Ombudsperson's contact details on Citizen Information Boards and their participation in Social Audit Public Hearings.
- Mission Amrit Sarovar: Launched in 2022, Mission Amrit Sarovar aims to construct or rejuvenate 75 Amrit Sarovars in every district to conserve water.
- The mission covers all rural districts, except Delhi, Chandigarh, and Lakshadweep, with each Amrit Sarovar having a minimum 1-acre pondage area.
- It was implemented through a "Whole of Government" approach, utilizing schemes like MGNREGA and CSR funds.
- Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS): This system ensures direct and transparent wage payments to beneficiaries by linking their Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts, reducing fraud and delays.
- Social Audit: MGNREGA empowers the Gram Sabha to conduct Social Audits of all works and expenditures, ensuring access to records and proactive disclosure.
- Section 17 mandates the Gram Sabha to monitor works, conduct regular social audits, and make relevant documents available for audit purposes.\
- Project Unnati: Project 'UNNATI' aims to upskill MGNREGA beneficiaries, helping them transition from partial to full-time employment and reducing their dependence on the scheme.
What are the Initiatives for Effectively Implementing MGNREGA?
- GeoMGNREGA: It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Rural Development in association with National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), ISRO and National Informatics Centre (NIC) to geo-tag assets created under MGNREGA in each Gram Panchayat, formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2016.
- Janmanrega: Janmanrega is a multilingual mobile app developed by NIC, Ministry of Rural Development, and NRSC, providing essential services for MGNREGA stakeholders.
- Key features include attendance tracking, payment status, asset location, feedback on completed works, grievance redressal, and scheme information.
- NREGASoft: It is a web-based Management Information System (MIS) designed to record all activities under the MGNREGA.
- It is available in both offline and online modes to capture data at the central, state, district, block, and panchayat levels.
Latest Update
- Budget 2024-25:
- MGNREGA Allocation: MGNREGA budget has steadily increased from Rs 33,000 crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs 86,000 crore in FY 2024-25, marking the highest allocation since its inception.
- Wage Rate Increase: The minimum average wage rate increased by 7% in FY 2024-25.
- Economic survey 2023-24:
- Women Participation: Women participation in MGNREGA increased from 54.8% in FY 2019-20 to 58.9% in FY 2023-24.
- Geotagging & Transparency: MGNREGA ensures 99.9% payments through the National Electronic Management System, with geotagging of assets before, during, and after the work.
- Person-Days Generated: The person-days generated increased from 265.4 crore in FY 2019-20 to 309.2 crore in FY 2023-24.
- Shift to Asset Creation: The share of individual beneficiary works on land rose from 9.6% in FY 2014 to 73.3% in FY 2024, promoting sustainable livelihoods.
- Support for Rural Enterprises: Programs like Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana (DAY-NRLM), Lakhpati Didis, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) support rural entrepreneurship and financial access.
- Technological Advancements:
- Geospatial & AI Collaboration: An MoU was signed between the Ministry of Rural Development and IIT Delhi in March 2024 to leverage geospatial technology and artificial intelligence applications for enhancing rural development.
- The MoU focuses on the BhuPRAHARI project, which aims to use geospatial technologies and Artificial Intelligence to monitor and manage MGNREGA assets.
