Page 1 of 17
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 13
December 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 497
Awareness Level of Rural People with Special
Reference to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act
Dr. Shilpi Srivastava*
*Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce Nehru Mahavidyalaya, Lalitpur, Jhansi, India
Abstract
The enactments of employment guarantee act and right to information act are indeed significant
achievements in the history of India. These acts provide a wide spectrum of basic rights to
people of India towards shaping their own polity and society. In the First section of paper
Researcher will discuss about the level of awareness and satisfaction among rural people
towards MNREGA. And finally after analyzing the present scenario of MNREGA and its overall
impact on rural development we will conclude the research paper with some suggestions and
recommendations.
Keywords: Employment Schemes, Beneficiaries, Benefits, Financial Assistance, Government
Initiatives
1.0 Introduction:
In country like India, where human
workforce is the major resource in
development of economy, mechanism to
systematically utilize this force at grass root
development has been overlooked for many
years since independence. The enactment of
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in
2005 is indeed a significant development in
this regard. In other 1words it symbolizes
the achievement of a very long civil society
and people’s movement towards ensuring
right to food through ensuring right to work.
The Indian Parliament passed the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MNREGA) in August 2005, which
provides for a minimum of 100 days of
guaranteed employment to every rural
household. Central government is making
large public expenditure under MNREGA.
In the budget (2009-10), an allocation of Rs
39,100 crore had been made for MNREGA,
which is an increase of 144 percent over the
2008-09 budget (16,000 crore). Rural
development has come to means to improve
the living conditions of general emphasis
unprecedented be viewed as the rural poor
by increasing their productive capacity and
raising actual income levels, eliminating the
sources of exploitation to establish social
justice and sensitizing them to be self- reliant. This is one of the formidable tasks
we are confronted with in challenging the
abject poverty threatening peace and social
harmony in the present day world.
Government plays a vital role in building up
the most appropriate resources to sustain
such a process. Proper implementation of
schemes generates development process
which makes people aware of the problems
and their appropriate solutions on the basis
of objective analysis of the root causes of
social malice and equips them with skills
and technology to act intelligently. So,
emphasis has rightly been placed on broad- basing primary eradication of rural problems
leading to removal of problems like health,
Page 2 of 17
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 13
December 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 498
education, agriculture and financial
assistance schemes. A livelihood is
sustainable which can cope with and recover
from stress and shocks, maintain or enhance
its capabilities and assets, and provide
sustainable livelihood opportunities for the
next generation (Chambers and Conway,
1992). Although the role of government in
the process of rural development is multi- faceted and complicated. The purpose of this
series of research is not to have a
comprehensive survey of strategies and
programmes on a regional basis. For the
present, the aim is to include those schemes
which are actively concerned, and are
planning consciously, to relate the role of
education, health, agriculture and financial
support as an important factor for social
welfare of Indian people. The policies and
programmes have been designed with the
aim of alleviation of rural poverty which has
been one of the primary objectives of
planned development in India. It was
realized that a sustainable strategy of
poverty alleviation has to be based on
increasing the productive employment
opportunities in the process of growth itself.
Elimination of poverty, ignorance, diseases
and inequality of opportunities and
providing a better and higher quality of life
were the basic premises upon which all the
plans and blue-prints of development were
built. Workfare programmes have been
important programme interventions in India
and elsewhere in developing countries since
long. These programmes typically provide
unskilled workers with short-term
employment on public works. They provide
income transfers to poor households during
periods when they suffer on account of
absence of opportunities of employment.
In areas with high unemployment rates and
under employment, transfer benefits from
workfare programmes can prevent poverty
from worsening, especially during lean
periods. Durable assets that these
programmes create have the potential to
generate second-round employment benefits
as requisite infrastructure is developed. We
have a long history and experience in
implementing wage employment
programmes. However, beginning with
Jawahar Rojagar Yojana in 1989, the
outreach of these programmes increased
significantly as in the period 1989 to 2006,
ultimately culminating in MNREGA. These
wage employment programmes
implemented by State Governments with
Central assistance were self-targeting, and
the objective was to provide enhanced
livelihood security, especially of those
dependent on casual manual labour. Based
on the experience of these programmes the
MNREGA was enacted to reinforce the
commitment towards livelihood security in
rural areas. The Act was notified on 7
September 2005. The significance of
MNREGA lies in the fact that it creates a
right based frame work for wage
employment programmes and makes the
government legally bound to provide
employment to those who seek it. In this
way the legislation goes beyond providing a
social safety net, and towards guaranteeing
the right to employment. The experience
with MNREGA so far suggests that it is one
of the main planks of rapid poverty
reduction in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan.
Starting with 200 districts across the country
in Phase-I during 2006–07, MNREGA was
extended to additional 130 districts in Phase- II during 2007–08. From 1 April 2008
onwards the Act will cover the whole of
rural India. As a district is notified under the
Act, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
(SGRY) is automatically merged in the
MNREGA and would therefore cease to
exist with effect from 1 April 2008. The
Page 3 of 17
Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
Available at http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/
ISSN: 2395-0463
Volume 03 Issue 13
December 2017
Available online: http://edupediapublications.org/journals/index.php/JSMaP/ P a g e | 499
objective of the MNREGA is to enhance the
livelihood security of the people in rural
areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage
employment in a financial year to a rural
household whose members volunteer to do
unskilled manual work. The Act further
aims at creating durable assets and
strengthening the livelihood resource base of
the rural poor. The choice of works
suggested in the Act address causes of
chronic poverty like drought, Deforestation,
soil erosion, etc., so that the process of
employment generation is on a sustainable
basis. Employment is dependent upon the
worker exercising the choice to apply for
registration, obtain a job card, and then to
seek employment through a written
application for the time and duration chosen
by her. The legal guarantee has to be
fulfilled within the time limit prescribed and
this mandate is underpinned by the provision
of unemployment allowance.
2.0 Review of Literature
Datar (2007) for why the MNREGA scheme
has failed to take off in Maharashtra. It
stated that there is no enthusiasm among the
political class as well as bureaucracy to
accept new scheme, which is more
decentralized and hence to be more
transparent and accountable to those who
need work. MNREGA has not picked up
momentum because government machinery
is paralyzed.
Colin and Parker(2005)confirmed that
existing knowledge of the activities of
regulators in developing countries does not
provide a clear picture. There is mixed
evidence regarding the extent to which
regulators address poverty issues and about
the results of regulatory decisions.
Fasoranti (2010) examined the influence of
micro credit on poverty alleviation among
rural areas. The government schemes had
positive influence on respondents’ major
macroeconomic variables namely income,
savings, consumption expenditures and asset
acquisition. Among other things, the level of
poverty was high as reflected in the type of
residence, cooking materials, health
institutions attended by respondents and
educational institutions attended by their
children. Generally 20.8, 30.9, 47.5 and
0.8% rated the programme good, poor, fair
and excellent respectively. The study
recommends a greater coverage of the state
by the scheme. Recipients should also be
encouraged to reinvest their profits in other
productive economic activities. pation and
social integration (Frankenberger, 1996).
One of the major goals of the Mahatma
Gandhi
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MNREGA), a centrally sponsored flagship
programme for rural employment
generation, started form 2nd February, 2006
is to ensure livelihood security to the rural
people.
Objective of the Study:
Analyzing the awareness level of
rural people towards Employment
Generation schemes of government
(MNREGA).
Analyzing the satisfaction level of
rural people towards Employment
Generation schemes of government.
Analyzing the factors of satisfaction
of rural people.
3.0 Research Methodology: As in this
paper we will explore the existing facts
present in the environment or universe. It
will consider different aspects of the
problem related to government schemes for
rural development. So we will take
Exploratory Research Design in our research
project. Collection of data will be done by
survey method.
Research Design: Descriptive
Research design
