Rajasthan tops states in MGNREGA man-days generation

Ever since the MGNREGA Act came into force, successive Congress governments in Rajasthan under the leadership of Ashok Gehlot have successfully implemented the programme with social mobilisation, political commitment, decentralised participatory planning and sound technical support to the panchayats’ planning as well as execution of works. With transparency and accountability at all levels of implementation, Rajasthan tops in man-days generation in the country. It topped in the country in terms of generating man-days, having already recorded 30.04 crores (100.12%) of the total target of 30 crores. Uttar Pradesh, with a much bigger population, is at a distant second, having generated 22.59 crores of man-days, followed by Tamil Nadu at 22.32 crores. The state has also excelled in 'the number of families completing 100 days of work' at 5,72,561, followed by Chhattisgarh at 2,96,904 and Andhra Pradesh at 2,83,094.

“By paying wages to 99.6 per cent unskilled labourers employed under the scheme within 15 days, the state has secured its place among the top three states in the country. The Centre has also cleared the payment of workers amounting to Rs 800-900 crore up to February 17, 2020. The Centre has also provided 3.34 crores more man-days (labour budget) for 2019-20, making it 33.34 crore man-days which would be the highest since the inception of the scheme. This would mean sanctioning an extra budget of around Rs 835 crore for the last two months of this financial year, i.e. up to March 31. So far, the state has spent over Rs 6,255 crore. The material component amounting to Rs 1,377 crore is still due to be released by the Centre. As the state’s MGNREGA department crossed the target of generating 23 crores man-days, achieving 24 crore man-days by December 2019, the Centre had revised the labour budget to fit 30 crore man-days for the financial year 2019-20, sanctioning an additional fund of nearly Rs 1,500 crore,” said deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot, who is also the minister for rural development.

“Every Act has some goals and aims to be achieved. The Congress government, with a view to achieve the goals, provided social protection to the most vulnerable by providing employment opportunities for them. The Congress government is committed to providing livelihood security for the poor through the creation of durable assets, improved water security, soil conservation, and higher land productivity. We empowered the socially disadvantaged people, especially women, Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Schedules Tribes (STs), through the processes of rights-based legislation. We strengthened decentralised, participatory planning through the convergence of the various anti-poverty and livelihood initiatives deepening democracy at the grassroots by strengthening Panchayati Raj institutions effecting greater transparency and accountability in governance,” he added.

Rajasthan is an ideal state to study the impact of MGNREGA and the most significant part is the participation of weaker and the marginalised sections particularly the SC and the STs. MGNREGA has checked outward migration from the state to a considerable extent. It has also helped in improving the wage rate in agriculture and other sectors. The villagers bought fertilisers and seeds with the money earned from MGNREGA wages. MGNREGA also helped to improve the state of nutrition and education among the poor.

“We recognise that MGNREGA gives hope to those who had all but lost hope. MGNREGA gives employment, provides income, gives a livelihood and it gives a chance to live a life of self-respect and dignity. MGNREGA is not just a development initiative but a right. Employment guarantee is implemented in its true sense and it focuses on matching outlays by outcomes. Productive assets are created to pay for the money spent,” said P C Kishan, who heads the MGNREGA department.

When the Manmohan Singh government in 2005 enacted MGNREGA, it was hailed as the major piece of legislation which affirmed India’s position as a welfare state. The Act guaranteed at least 100 days of paid work to every person in rural areas every year. It was also hailed as definitely securing social justice for a huge section of the country’s people who had until then remained largely ignored and side-lined.