Submitted by

Peeyush Kumar (2009RDZ8557)

 MAHATMA GANDHI
NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE
ACT (MG-NREGA)

(NREGA) was notified September 7, 2005 and

enacted by legislation on August 25, 2005
OBJECTIVE OF THE ACT
Enhance livelihood security in rural areas
by providing at least 100 days of
guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year to every household whose
adult members volunteer to do unskilled
manual work.
Goals of NREGA:
 Strong social safety net for the vulnerable groups
by providing a fall-back employment source, when
other employment alternatives are scarce or
inadequate
Sustainable development of an agricultural and
natural resource based economy
Empowerment of rural poor through the processes
of a rights-based Law
Incorporating transparency and grass root
democracy in governance
COVERAGE
First phase (February 2nd 2006): 200 districts
Second phase (2007-2008): 130 districts
Third phase (April 1, 2008): Remaining districts

Thus NREGA covers the entire country with the

exception of districts that have a hundred
percent urban population.
SALIENT FEATURES OF
THE ACT
Adult members of a rural household, willing to do unskilled
manual work, may apply for registration to the local Gram
Panchayat
The Gram Panchayat after due verification will issue a Job
Card
The Job Card should be issued within 15 days of application
The minimum days of employment have to be at least
fourteen
Employment will be given within 15 days of application for
work, otherwise daily unemployment allowance as per the
Act, has to be paid
Work should ordinarily be provided within 5 km radius of
the village.
In case work is provided beyond 5 km, extra allowance of
10% should be paid
Contd.
Wages are to be paid according to the Minimum Wages Act
1948 for agricultural labourers in the State or min. Rs. 60/
per day
Equal wages should be provided to both men and women
At least one-third beneficiaries shall be women
Work site facilities such as crèche, drinking water, shade
have to be provided
Permissible works predominantly include water and soil
conservation, afforestation and land development works
The Central Government bears the 100 percent wage cost
of labour and 75 percent of the material cost
All accounts and records relating to the Scheme should be
available for public scrutiny
Key Stakeholders in the
NREGA :
Wage seekers
Village level
Gram Sabha
PRIs, specially the gram panchayat
Programme Officer at the block level
Block level
District Programme Co-ordinator District level
State Government State level
Ministry of Rural Development Centre level
 NREGS case studies:
Providing employment to Landless Agricultural
Labourers
Bhghmundi (Purulia district), West Bengal
 A bandh was excavated under NREGS at the estimated cost of Rs. 5 lakh
 It generated employment of 6800 person days and provided work for 303
households
 Before this, the labourers found it difficult to get work locally and survived on
the sale of firewood from which they earned approximately Rs. 15-20 per day
 Through the NREGA work they have been earning Rs. 65-70 per day

Besides this the

work has also
facilitated
irrigation
facilities on
nearly 15 acers
of lands
 Increasing the prospects of Agricultural Production and
Pisci-culture
Rendo village of Chuttu Gram Panchayat (Kante
Block, Ranchi district), Jharkhand
NREGA sheme was used to construct a pond
The pond has opened the prospects of pisci culture
Cultivation of Pekhi (A kind of vegetable) on the bank of
the pond
This has contributed to economic development of
villagers by supplementing their income
 Bridging the social barriers among different
groups
Vellunda Gram Panchayat (Mananthavadi
Block, Wayanad district), Kerela
Kurichiya and Paniya, the two tribal communities of Kerala
had no social interaction among them
With the intervention of NREGS work being done in the
district the barriers began to fade away
Under NREGS, construction of road from Valaramkunu to
Koyitappara was undertaken solely for members of ST
communities
The initiative has dismanteled the gap between two
communities created by social barriers
 Improving social structure
Palakkad and Waynad districts,
Kerala
Kerala is a tiny state with large number of educated
unemployed
Most of them were forced to migrate to the gulf countries
before NREGA
Now with NREGS, peoples were able to get work with good
wages (Kerala has highest wage under NREGS in country
with Rs. 125)
Implementation of work was made impartial with
Kudumbashree and disputes were solved by introducing
appellate system
The success of NREGA there has also resulted in reduction
in the number of suicide cases earlier rampant
 Problems with NREGA
implementation:
 
Muster roll or bogus registration data
Corruption
Showing more work on the paper than was
done
THANK YOU