GS 3 - Resources, Growth, Development and Employment

Keywords: Rural Development, Inclusive growth, Covid Recovery, Rural distress, Jobless growth, MGNREGA, legal Right, guarantee employment .

Why in News?

Recently, Finance Ministry has allocated additional funds of ₹10,000 crore as an interim measure for the MGNREGA scheme after it ran out of funds allocated in the budget.

What is MGNREGA?

MGNREGA is a legal work guarantee programme. The 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 unskilled manual work.

Salient features of the scheme

1. Right to Work is a statutory right

2. At least one-third of beneficiaries should be women.
3. Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified by states
4. Demand-Driven and legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days, if failed then ‘unemployment allowance’ should be given.

5. Act promotes Decentralization with significant role to PRI in planning and implementation

6. Mandatory provision of Social Audit

Challenges in MGNREGA

1. Inadequate Financing: Phenomenon of SHORTFALL is occurring almost every fiscal year. E.g. Fund crunch in 24 States and UTs in 2021

2. Paucity of funds disrupts demand-supply cycle of employment. Lack of funds results in suppression of demand for work and also constrains post covid rural economic recovery.

3. Mandatory provision of disbursement of wages within 15 days is an open failure in almost every state. In addition, no statutory guarantee compensation given for any delay in payment.
4. This has turned the scheme into a supply-based programme and subsequently, workers had begun to lose interest in working under it.

5. Inefficiencies and unholy nexus of PRI with officials create hurdle in proper implementation of scheme e.g., Duplication of Job Cards.

6. Phenomenon of low quality and high Inefficiency in work leading to poor asset creation in rural economy.

Way forward

Timely disbursal of Funds and mandatory compensation in case of any delay

Regular DATA collection and evidence-based policy decisions to address the existing inefficiencies like duplication of card, unpaid work.

Use of ICT tools like GIS, Satellite imagery, Geo-tagging etc. for new asset creation.

Combine minimum wage with CPI-rural for better inflation targeting as recommended by many states.

Prelims Question

Q. Consider the following statement regarding MGNREGA

Statement 1. MGNREGA is a supply-based legal job guarantee scheme.

Statement 2. MGNREGA aligned with CPI-rural for inflation targeting

A. Statement 1 correct

B. Statement 2 correct

C. Both Statement 1 and Statement 2 correct

D. Neither Statement 1 nor Statement 2 correct

Ans. D

Mains Question

Q. MGNREGA has very vital role in Post Covid rural economic recovery, but scarcity of fund is now become a regular phenomenon in poor implementation of the scheme. Keeping this in mind, suggest some existing challenges and new reforms to revive the MGNREGA scheme. (15 marks)

Sources:

The Hindu

Ministry of Rural Development official website