Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) What works? …and what does not?
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
What works? …and what does not?
“Right to Employment”
• Guaranteed work, within 15 days • Unskilled labor, close to home • Minimum wages, or slightly higher • Decent working conditions • Participatory work planning
– Local self-governance (panchayats)
• Creation of rural assets – mostly public; some private
MGNREGA at a Glance Some broad numbers…
MGNREGA Monitoring and Evaluation…
MGNREGA on the Web…
• All MGNREGA data is available online; open access
• Data is supposed to be updated (almost) real time, but not all states / regions are able to regularly update due to staff availability and connectivity issues
• However, one can go down to the details of each individual and look at the official data
MGNREGA on the Web…
http://mnregaweb4.nic.in/netnrega/dynamic2/dynamicreport_new4.aspx
MGNREGA on the Web…
http://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/writereaddata/Circulars/MGNREGA_SAMEEKSHA.pdf
Case Study: Andhra Pradesh
• Use of ICT for 4 critical processes • Tracking field operations: Issuing job cards, work
estimates, work completion • Electronic Fund Management System: Using
digital signature keys (DSKs) • Mobile-based apps for field staff: work demand
and allocation tracking, e-musters • E-Payment of MGNREGA wages using biometric
identification process
M&E Gaps
• Once rural assets are created, there is no tracking and follow up
• Little stake for communities to manage and maintain MGNREGA public assets
• Often, MGNREGA work is undertaken to renovate / re-create the same asset!
• To some extent, this is an HR issue – getting sufficient qualified personnel – but needs immediate attention
Achievements and Disappointments
+ Scale and scope + Estd. wage floor + M:F wage parity + Bargaining power of
labor + New entrants to labor + “Forced” migration + Transparency
– Systemic corruption – Quality rural assets
– Private vs. Public
– Strengthening PRI’s – Missing / perverse
incentives – Exit strategy – Systematic impact
assessment