12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 1/7

MGNREGA workers in Uttar Pradesh, India on July 27, 2020.

Synopsis

Are there enough jobs under MGNREGA? What do workers have to say about it? By using a unique database, we havetried to �nd out workers’ response to the programme’s ef�cacy. We collected 6,580 raw data points from 40 districts,

covering a range of 162 gram panchayats. Here’s what we discovered.

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MGNREGA: what workers reallythink about the programme’s

e�ectiveness

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The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)is the largest workfare programme in the world with an average annualexpenditure of over USD5 billion. And in recent times, the need for expandingthe programme has gained prominence.

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 2/7

MGNREGA is expected to provide employment opportunities to migrantworkers who were displaced by the economic disruption due to the Covid-19outbreak. Most of these migrant workers belong to the rural poor-incomehouseholds. While state governments claim they care about the lives of theseworkers and that there are enough employment opportunities available via theprogramme, let’s see what the workers actually think.

In a �rst of its kind, by using a unique database, Workers Level Schedule (WLS),sourced from the All India Coordinated Report by the NITI Aayog (earlier,Planning Commission) we have tried to �nd out workers’ response to theprogramme’s e�ectiveness. The states considered are Andhra Pradesh, Assam,Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha,Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Meghalaya, Tripura, andUttarakhand.

In total, 6,580 raw data points were collected from 40 districts, covering a rangeof 162 grampanchayats. These districts and villages are chosen based on astrati�ed, multistage random-sampling method. We found some interestingresults.

The �ndings The impact of MGNREGA in providing employment opportunities andaugmenting market-wage rates varied enormously across states. The stateswhich did well in terms of implementing MGNREGA programmes areChhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Tripura. Although it is naturalto assume that poorer states will introduce more MGNREGA programmes, yetdata �nds no such direct correlation. For example, while there are incidences ofpoverty in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh, there seems to be lack ofusage of MGNREGA funds. Likewise, among the north-eastern states, ArunachalPradesh and Manipur did not do well in terms of providing MGNREGA work.

On the other hand, some poorer states such as Chhattisgarh and Tripura didwell in terms of providing MGNREGA work. For the relatively rich states such asPunjab and Haryana, where the demand for MGNREGA work was low, there isapparently not much interest for the programme implementation.

Workers from Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Odisha, and WestBengal believed that MGNREGA intervention has led to the increase in market-wage rates.

MGNREGA work has created demand for unskilled workers and this had

some spillover e�ect in raising market-wage rates for non-MGNREGA-

related unskilled work, such as manual farm labour, porter, etc. Jammu and

Kashmir, Odisha, and �est Bengal are industrially backward, and

MGNREGA work has been helpful in increasing average market-wage rates

for unskilled workers.

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 3/7

For the industrially advanced states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, TamilNadu, and Karnataka, the workers felt no drastic improvement in market-wagerates to arise from MGNREGA-related activities.

For instance, while the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, andTamil Nadu have fared well in terms of implementing MGNREG schemes, mostof the funds have been used for buying heavy machinery for the construction ofMGNREGA assets. As there is a presence of an alternative industrial base(where there is a demand for manual labour), these states were not thatsuccessful in terms of providing wage employment related to MGNREGA work.Karnataka, for example, boasts of a thriving agricultural sector and is a pioneerin the electronic national agriculture market (e-NAM), with less demand forwork under MGNREGA.

There is evidence of corruption. There are many ways money is stolen– throughfalse documentation, bogus workers’ lists, and a signi�cant portion of missingassets. In many cases, it was found that jobs were allocated on a ‘verbal basis’,and no documentation was available with the village body. This recordstrengthens the picture of disparity and irregularity due to the self-selectionbias, which is primarily due to the undesirable and unlawful politicalintervention. For example, in Kerala, not many workers are available forMGNREGA work and the panchayat pradhans are instructed to submit wagebills where the bene�ciaries are the local party workers.

The workers in Kerala have alternative employment opportunities in teaplantation, spice, and tourism industries. Likewise, in Assam we observe a bigdi�erence between MGNREGA-wage rate and market-wage rates. This has to dowith �ourishing oil, tea plantation, and tourism sectors in Assam. While thenative people of Assam work in these sectors, most of the migrant labourers(some of them from across international borders) prefer to work in low-wage-type MGNREGA opportunities.

Political a�iliation matters. In West Bengal, households that are politicallyactive and supporters of the local ruling party are more likely to receiveMGNREGA work. In Rajasthan, the workers themselves did not apply for workknowing that the government is slow in implementing the MGNREGA work.

In terms of transparency, the Himalayan states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammuand Kashmir, and Uttarakhand were more unbiased in doling out MGNREGschemes. Unfortunately, the militant activities in Jammu and Kashmir and thehilly terrains of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand are limiting the success ofMGNREG schemes.

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 4/7

The conclusion For a scheme such as MGNREGA, a pan-India, uniform implementation won’tbe e�ective. If the variations, based on the diversity of the states, are notincorporated in the Act, implementation cannot be perfect. Both the model andthe method of implementation of MGNREGA must be customised according tothe needs of every region, with minimum leakage of funds due to corruption invarious administrative layers.

Fortunately for India, the National Agricultural Research Project by IndianCouncil of Agricultural Research has divided the country into 127 independentagro-climatic zones depending on soil, rainfall, and agricultural productivities.For programmes to be e�ective, it is advisable that the MGNREG scheme isimplemented as per the requirements of the geographical characteristics,taking into consideration the occupational patterns of the local people.

(Nilanjan Banik is professor at Bennett University, Greater Noida, India.

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 5/7

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4 COMMENTS ON THIS STORY

Jooluri MattachariIt is unfortunate you did not analyze the impact of this MGNREGA on availability of labor for agrisector. Also, you did not make any attempt on the quality of work or assets being built throughMGnrEGA. People work for 30 mins to 1 hour without creating any durable asset. Especially intelangana its implementation is good only in terms of utilization of funds but not from creation ofquality works/assets.

R.n. SharmaAny review of the scheme should the manner and purchase of engagement. These shoul aim tocreat assets such as tanks for water storage ,access paths to farmsor erecting community neededstructures.It should baecome an effective contributor to development of the village.

Yashodhan PatelSuch analysis should be done for all states and done for which FY

VIEW COMMENTS ADD COMMENTS

Comments can be sent to nilbanik@gmail.com. The views expressed arepersonal.)

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 6/7

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12/15/2020 MGNREGA: what workers really think about the programme’s effectiveness - The Economic Times

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/prime/economy-and-policy/mgnrega-what-workers-really-think-about-the-programmes-effectiveness/primearticle… 7/7

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