Context:
Funding freeze brings MGNREGS to a standstill in West Bengal.
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS):
- One of the largest work guarantee programmes launched in 2005.
- Implementation Agency – Ministry of Rural development
- Provides a legal guarantee of a 100 days of wage employment in a year to adult members of a rural household willing for unskilled manual work.
- Major Features –
- Ensures any rural adult can request work and must receive it within 15 days. If not, an “unemployment allowance” must be provided.
- Priority shall be given to women (at least 1/3rd of the beneficiaries shall be women)
- Mandated Social audit of all works executed under MGNREGA
- The work provided is usually within a 5 km radius of the applicant’s village, with a travel allowance provided for work beyond this radius.
- Panchayati Raj Institutions take the lead role in planning, implementing, and monitoring the allocated and executed works.
- Gram Sabhas are given the authority to suggest work and are required to carry out at least half of the work.
- Payments are made on a weekly basis and cannot be delayed more than 15 days, with compensation for delays
Recent reforms to make MGNREGS efficient:
- National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS) app to capture the attendance of MGNREGS workers
- SECURE application for estimating preparation and approval for MGNREGS works.
- Geo-MGNREGA for geo-tagging of all completed works under MGNREGS.
- Project “UNNATI” to upgrade the skill base of the MGNREGS workers
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Question
Among the following who are eligible to benefit from the “Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act”?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2011 Prelims]
(a) Adult members of only the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe households
(b) Adult members of below poverty line (BPL) households
(c) Adult members of households of all backward communities
(d) Adult members of any household
Answer: (d)
