Page 1 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 306
Impact of Mgnrega on Child Labor in North India
Sandeep Gulia
M.A. (Sociology) NET
ABSTRACT
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005), is an Indian labour law and social
security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. It aims to enhance livelihood
security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial
year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The
present research is an attempt to examine the impact of MGNREGA on child labour. The
swtudy based on secondary data. Study concludes that MGNREGA had great impact in all
segment of society. However, it has been observed that though the MGNREGA strictly
prohibits employment of persons below the age of 18 years, it also has the opposite
potential of boosting the incidence of child labour in India ostensibly triggered by the
increased employment and income opportunities offered by the Act.
Key words- Employment, Income, Labour
INTRODUCTION:
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42, later renamed as the
"Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act", MGNREGA), is an Indian
labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. It aims to
enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage
employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do
unskilled manual work. The act was first proposed in 1991 by P.V. Narasimha Rao, it was
finally accepted in the parliament and commenced implementation in 625 districts of India.
Based on this pilot experience, NREGA was scoped up to cover all the districts of India
from 1 April 2008. The statute is hailed by the government as "the largest and most
Page 2 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 307
ambitious social security and public works programme in the world". In its World
Development Report 2014, the World Bank termed it a "stellar example of rural
development". The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of "enhancing 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". Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals,
ponds and wells). Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence,
and minimum wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying,
applicants are entitled to an unemployment allowance. Thus, employment under
MGNREGA is a legal entitlement.
MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by Gram Panchayats (GPs). The
involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive tasks like creating infrastructure
for water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are preferred. Apart from providing
economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the
environment, empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering
social equity, among others." The law provides many safeguards to promote its effective
management and implementation. The act explicitly mentions the principles and agencies
for implementation, list of allowed works, financing pattern, monitoring and evaluation,
and most importantly the detailed measures to ensure transparency and accountability.
Objective of research Paper
The present research is an attempt to highlight the following points- 1) To explain the MGNREGA in socio magnitude
2) To highlight the condition of child labour under MGNREGA
Research methodology
Page 3 of 11
European Journal of Business &
Social Sciences
Available at https://ejbss.org/
ISSN: 2235-767X
Volume 07 Issue 01
January 2019
Available online: https://ejbss.org/ P a g e | 308
The research is explorative by nature that based on secondary data collected from different
published and unpublished source.
DEFINITION AND DIMENSIONS OF CHILD LABOUR:
Definition
The definition of child labour varies in accordance with the context and criteria applied to
the subject. Any definition of the term ‘child labour’ is related to two components, that is,
the ‘child’ in terms of his/her chronological age and ‘labour’ in terms of its nature,
quantum, and income generation capacity.
Article 1 of the UNCRC defines everyone under the age of 18 years as a child. It lays down
a detailed charter of children’s social, economic, cultural, civil and political rights and
mandates their protection from any practice prejudicial to their rights. Article 32 of the
Convention obliges states parties to proscribe children from working in any condition that
is likely to be hazardous, or interfere with their education, or be harmful for their health,
physical, mental, social, moral and spiritual development.
The ILO’s International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC)
classifies child labour by drawing upon ILO Convention No. 138, Convention No. 182, and
the UN CRC. This classification includes three types of work in age groups as follows:
a) all children aged 5-11 years engaged in economic activity are considered to comprise child
labour that requires elimination;
b) children aged 12-14 years performing economic activities are considered to comprise child
labour unless they are engaged in light work;
c) children aged 15-18 years engaged in the worst forms of labour are to be “categorized as
child labourers”.
India acceded to the UNCRC in December 1992, but has not yet ratified either ILO
