Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme

News:Government has planned to link MGNREGA scheme wages to an updated inflation index.This is aimed at increasing wages and reviving rural demand.

Facts:

What is MGNREGA?

• The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is an employment guarantee act
• It was introduced in 2005 through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act,2005.

Objective:

• The Act aims to 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.

Implementation:

• Ministry of Rural Development (MRD),Government of India in association with state governments monitors the implementation of the scheme.

Features of the act:

• Demand driven scheme:Worker to be hired when he demands and not when the Government wants it.
• Gram Panchayat is mandated to provide employment within 15 days of work application failing which worker is entitled to unemployment allowance
• Payment of wages within 15 days of competition of work failing which worker is entitled to delay compensation of 0.05%/ day of wages earned.

Concerns with the scheme:

• Insufficient budget allocation
• Poor wages rate
• Delay in wage payments
• Fabrication of job cards:Payments to fictitious workers
• Ineffective grievance redressal
• Large number of incomplete work
• Poor quality of assets created.

Measures to be taken:

• Proper and timely allocation of funds
• Ensuring minimum wages for workers
• Effective monitoring of projects
• Ensuring employment to rural households as per demand for work.
• Proper job card verification
• Ensuring efficient grievance redressal mechanism.