Advantages of MGNREGA-• The Act is providing guaranteed employment only in rural areas.
• Employment Guarantee Act helps provide an opportunity to build useful assets in the villages.• Employment Guarantee Act helps to save rural households from poverty and hunger.• The Act provided an opportunity to most of the poorer households to cross below poverty line upwards.• Providing Social security for the rural poor People by providing them local employment.• This program provides supplementary income to the BPL households through wages in public works.
• This will help reduce the influx of population from rural to urban areas in search of job.• This will empower the laborers and workers to negotiate their wages.• Employment Guarantee Act will empower the women and will help make them self reliant.• The program helped a lot in reducing the seasonal and disguised unemployment in the agricultural sector.
• Also contributed in women empowerment in rural areas.• This program also reduced the wage dissimilarity between men and women workers by increasing the minimum wage.• This gainful employment has helped in raising the income and levels of living of the weaker sections, particularly in the rural areas.Objectives of the MGNREGA:-The main objectives of this act is to provide every rural household a guarantee at least 100 days of employment during a financial year by providing unskilled manual work in rural areas to those members of the rural house hold who volunteer to do such work. The MGNREGA is a holistic measure and aimed to fulfilling one of the most human right “that is right to employment at least one member of the family”.
The main objective of MGNREGA is the creation of durable assets in rural areas and strengthening the livelihood resource base of the rural poor for fighting poverty. The main aim of the act is to enhance the purchasing power of rural people.Coverage- The Act was notified on 200 Districts in the first phase with effect from 2nd Feb 2006, and then extended to additional 130 Districts in the Financial Year 2007-2008 (113 districts were notified with effect from 1st April 2007 and 17 Districts in MP were notified effect from 15th May 2007). The remaining 295 Districts have been notified under the MGNREGA with effect from 1st April 2008 now mgnrega covers whole nation except the districts having hundred Percent urban Populations.
The Salient Features of MGNREGA:-The salient features of MGNREGA schemes are as follows –1- Adult members of a rural household may apply for employment if they are willing to do unskilled manual work at least 100 days work will be provide per household per annum Such a house hold will have to apply for registration to the local Gram Panchayat, in writing or orally. 2- The Gram Panchayat after due verification will issue a job card to the house hold. The job cards bear the photograph of all adult members of the household willing to work under MGNREGA.3- All adults who have completed 18 years of age are eligible to work in this scheme.4- Employment will be provided within 15 days of registration by the Village Panchayat.5- Men and women will be paid equal wages and preference will be given to women workers in each work.6- If employment is not given within 15 days of registration, then Daily Unemployment Allowance in cash has to be paid.
7- Disbursement of wages has to be done on weekly basis and not beyond a fortnight and the wages are directly transferred to the Bank / Post Office account of the beneficiaries.8- Panchayti Raj Institutions (PRIs) have to play a Principle role in planning, execution and implementation of the scheme at the village level.9- At least one – third beneficiaries that shall be women who have registered and requested work under the scheme.10- Work site facilities such as drinking water, shade, and child care have to be provided.
11- 50% of works allotted to Gram Panchayats for execution.12- Social audit has to be done by the Gram Sabha.13- The Central Government bears the 100 Percent wage cost of unskilled manual labor and 75 Percent of the material cost including the wage of unskilled and semi-unskilled workers. 14- All accounts and records relating to the Scheme should be available for public scrutiny. Funding Pattern:-The MGNREGA Act is a centrally sponsored scheme on a cost sharing basis between the Central Government and State Government will bear all costs other than the following:1- The entire cost of wages for unskilled manual works.2- 75 percent of the cost of the material and wages for skilled /semi- skilled workers.3- Administrative expenses, which will include, inter alia, the salary and allowances of program officers and their support staff and work site facilities.4- Administrative expenses of the Central employment guarantee council.
