Right to Work (MG-NREGA)
What's Inside
Kindly click here to access the LibTech India report titled Status of MGNREGA Employment and Wages in West Bengal FY (April to December 2022-23), published in December 2022. --- The key findings for the report titled The state of rural employment: A look at MGNREGS across 5 states in India (released in October 2022), which has been prepared by Dalberg in partnership with Kantar, and with support from Omidyar Network India, are as follows (please click here to access): • This study is an attempt to provide new evidence on how the scheme is faring for its intended beneficiaries. It does so by focusing on: a) The experience of rural adults in India in seeking their entitlements under the scheme; b) Challenges faced by local administrators who oversee the implementation of the scheme at the last mile; and, c) Adherence to different MGNREGS guidelines and processes by the administrators. • The study’s primary aim is to provide policymakers with relevant insights and recommendations to improve the design and execution of MGNREGS and ensure seamless delivery of entitlements to the intended beneficiaries. Using a mixed-methods, data-driven approach, the results from the study have been informed by a survey of nearly 4,600 low income households in rural areas and 1,500 MGNREGS administrators across five states - Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh. BENEFICIARIES’ EXPERIENCE IN THE 5 STUDY STATES Enrolment in MGNREGS • 47 percent of rural low-income households had at least one active job card. • 30 percent of low-income rural adults were listed on a job card. • 29 percent of low-income rural adults were not listed on an active job card but wanted to be listed on one. Of these, majority (72 percent) belonged to households that did not have a job card at all. Applying for MGNREGS employment • 70 percent of job card holders wanted MGNREGS jobs at least once during the last year. • 18 percent of job card holders tried to apply for work but could not submit their application. Receiving employment • All households that applied for work, received it; but most got less work than they wanted. On average, households applied for 95 days of work against their annual entitlement of 100 days but received 66 days of work. Getting MGNREGS wages • 95 percent of job card holders who received MGNREGS employment in the last year had received wages for their most recent employment. • 58 percent of job card holders who received MGNREGS employment in the last year, received their wages late (i.e., beyond the stipulated 15 days). Grievance redressal • 20 percent of job card holders had a MGNREGS related grievance, and 91 percent of them sought redressal; grievances were fully redressed for 27 percent of those who sought redressal. Women’s employment under MGNREGS • Over the last 5 years, women accounted for more than 50 percent of person days of employment generated under the scheme. • 6 percent of women with a job card could not apply for employment and said this was because there was no work available for women. LOCAL ADMINISTRATORS’ EXPERIENCE IN THE 5 STUDY STATES • There was more demand for MGNREGS work than was being registered; 41 percent of administrators stopped accepting applications for employment after the year’s labor budget was exhausted. • Employment demand projections, which are needed to support MGNREGS implementation, were not available in all Gram Panchayats: work planning exercises were carried out every year in 79 percent of Gram Panchayats and were less frequent in others. • There was less work available than needed to meet employment demand in many Gram Panchayats; 37 percent of administrators in Gram Panchayats where work planning was carried out every year reported that this was the case. • 39 percent of local administrators could not resolve beneficiaries’ grievances (such as those related to wage rejection) because they lacked the authority to do so. |
Rural Expert
Tagged with: MGNREGA
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