AM Envisioning a New Socio-Economic Order to apply for this work and are provided with job cards. Work is to be provided by the local authorities within days. If not, the applicant is entitled to an unemployment allowance. The work site should be located within five kilometres of the house of the applicant.
No contractors are to be involved. This is to avoid the profits which will be taken by the middlemen thus cutting into the wages. The ratio of wages to capital investment should be . One-third of the workers would be women.
Men and women would be paid the same wage. As with all government programmes, many studies have brought out the weaknesses in the implementation of MGNREGA. On the positive side, agricultural wages have gone up due to the improved bargaining power of labour. This has also reduced the migration of agricultural workers to urban areas during the lean period or during droughts.
One of the most important benefits is that women are participating in the works in large numbers and have been empowered by the programme. Wages of the workers are paid directly into bank accounts or post office accounts to ensure transparency and hassle - free transfer of payments. The involvement of civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations and political representatives, and a more responsive attitude of the civil servants have improved the functioning of MGNREGA in states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Efficiency has increased up to %.
Between and , around ` , , crores had been distributed directly as wage payment under the programme, generating crore person-days of employment. In spite of many shortcomings, the functioning of the programme has improved due to higher levels of consciousness among the rural poor and concerned civil society organisations. Though many critics feel that the high expenditure involved in the programme increases the fiscal deficit, the programme remains popular and nearly one-fourth of all rural households participate in the programme each year. line has come down substantially in India.
It is now widely recognised that eradicating rural poverty can be