Abstract
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is considered as a “Panacea†for eradicating rural poverty and unemployment. Its objectives are: (a) provide, on demand, not less than one hundred days of unskilled manual work in a financial year to every household in rural areas; (b) create productive assets of prescribed quality and durability through wage employment; (b) strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor; (c) proactively ensure social inclusion; and (d) strengthen Panchayat Raj Institutions. Arunachal Pradesh, one of the eight north-eastern states of India is a rural-based state where the majority of the population depends on agriculture. In this context, the rural employment guarantee programme has played a significant role in alleviating rural poverty by giving them 100 days guaranteed job in a year. In the state, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) during 2006 was initially launched only in one district and was further extended to two more districts the next financial year in 2007. Currently, the programme is being implemented in all the 16 districts of the state barring few recently created districts. While some districts in Arunachal Pradesh are performing very well; some others are worst performers,and Kurung Kumey is one of the worst performing districts of the state regarding implementing this programme. Thus, the present study attempts to critically examine the implementation process of this programme and its impact on tribal livelihoods that is, to what extent MGNREGA has given justice in sustaining the livelihoods of poor tribal communities in a Panchayat of Kurung Kumey district, Arunachal Pradesh. The study reveals that there is little impact of MGNREGA on tribal livelihoods. The faulty implementation strategy has ruined the spirit of this programme. Religion and street biases and favouritism in case of distribution of job cards, the dominance of dominant families, poor leadership and improper coordination among the stakeholders have stood as significant hurdles in this programme.
Highlights
The development of rural India is crucial for inclusive and impartial growth and for releasing the enormous potential of the population that is presently trapped in poverty and its associated deprivations (Rengasamy and Kumar, 2011: 36)
Projects providing irrigation facility to land owned by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comes under permissible work and people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who works in their own fields, are eligible to get wages under this scheme (Gupta, 2014: 234)
This study focuses on the role of the Gram Panchayat (GP) in generating sufficient employment opportunities through Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)
Summary
The development of rural India is crucial for inclusive and impartial growth and for releasing the enormous potential of the population that is presently trapped in poverty and its associated deprivations (Rengasamy and Kumar, 2011: 36). Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a part of the Government of India’s broader commitment to inclusive growth, which aims to address both the economic and social underpinnings of poverty (Holmes, Sadana and Rath, 2011) This flagship scheme aims to guarantee the ‘right to work’ and ensure 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 (Borah and Bordoloi, 2014: 40). Projects providing irrigation facility to land owned by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes comes under permissible work and people from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, who works in their own fields, are eligible to get wages under this scheme (Gupta, 2014: 234) It is the first programme in the country to provide guaranteed livelihood security to rural poor with an initial outlay of ₹113000 million in the year 2006-07. The findings and discussions are covered in the final sections
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