The Government of India launched a new scheme called the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), also known as the MNREGA scheme, which aims to provide employment opportunities in rural areas.
This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the MGNREGA scheme, including its objectives, benefits, challenges and impact on rural India. The scheme aims to provide employment opportunities to the rural poor, ensure their livelihood security and create sustainable rural infrastructure.
History Of MNREGA Scheme:
The roots of the MNREGA scheme can be traced to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) passed by the Indian Parliament in 2005. The objective of NREGA was to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteered to do unskilled manual work.
NREGA was later renamed as MGNREGA scheme in 2009 to honour the contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to India’s freedom struggle.
Objectives Of MNREGA Scheme:
The goal of the MNREGA scheme is:
- To provide at least 100 days of employment per year to rural households.
- Creating productive assets like roads, canals, tanks and wells in rural areas.
- Empower women by providing equal pay and employment opportunities to them.
- To promote sustainable development in rural areas by focusing on natural resource management and conservation.
Main Features Of The MNREGA Scheme:
Some of the salient features of the MGNREGA scheme are as follows:
- The scheme guarantees a minimum of 100 days of employment to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
- The wages paid to the workers are fixed by the state government and revised annually.
- The scheme mandates the use of labour-intensive work methods to create durable assets and enhance rural infrastructure.
- The scheme provides for the participation of women in the labour force and ensures equal pay for equal work.
- The scheme also has a provision for payment of unemployment allowance if work is not provided within 15 days of application.
Benefits Of MNREGA Scheme:
The MGNREGA scheme has several benefits for rural households, including:
- To provide employment opportunities and income support during the lean agricultural season.
- Creating productive assets that improve the livelihoods of rural communities.
- To empower women by providing equal pay and employment opportunities to them.
- To promote social inclusion by providing employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups like scheduled castes and tribes.
- To promote rural demand and economic development by increasing rural income.
Implementation Of MNREGA Scheme:
The implementation of the MGNREGA scheme involves the following steps:
- Identify works to be done, such as water conservation, land development and rural infrastructure.
- Registration of eligible households, consisting of adult members of rural households.
- Allotment of employment within 15 days of registration based on the choice of the families.
- Payment of wages directly into the bank accounts of workers within 15 days of completion of work.
- Maintenance of records and implementation of Social Audit to ensure transparency and accountability.
Challenges Faced by MGNREGA Scheme:
Despite its many benefits, the MGNREGA scheme has faced several challenges, including:
- Delay in payment of wages due to insufficient financial resources and delay in fund transfer.
- Low wages are often not enough to meet minimum wage standards set by the government.
- Corruption and leakages in the implementation process reduce the effectiveness of the scheme.
- Limited focus on skill development and training reduces workers’ long-term employability.
- Inadequate monitoring and evaluation make it difficult to assess the scheme’s impact.
Effect of MNREGA Scheme:
The MNREGA scheme has had a significant impact on rural India, including:
- To provide employment opportunities to lakhs of rural families.
- Creating productive assets such as roads, ponds and wells that improve the livelihood of rural communities.
- To reduce migration from rural to urban areas by providing employment opportunities in rural areas.
- To empower women by providing equal pay and employment opportunities to them.
- To enhance social inclusion by providing employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups like scheduled castes and tribes.
- To promote rural demand and economic development by increasing rural income.
MGNREGA-Impact on Employment and Poverty Alleviation:
MGNREGA has significantly impacted employment generation and poverty alleviation in rural India. According to official data, more than 10 crore households have been employed under the scheme, and more than 10,000 crore person-days of employment have been generated. This has led to an increase in rural income, due to which the poverty level has come down.
MGNREGA Scheme Eligibility Criteria:
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is a social security scheme launched by the Government of India to provide livelihood security to people living in rural areas of the country. Here are the eligibility criteria for MGNREGA:
- The applicant must be a citizen of India.
- The age of the applicant should be at least 18 years.
- The applicant should reside in a rural area.
- Applicant must be ready to do unskilled manual work.
- The applicant should be registered under the scheme in his/her respective Gram Panchayat.
- Applicant should not be employed or should not be a member of any other similar employment scheme.
- Women are given priority in the scheme and are eligible to work on all types of work.
- Persons with disabilities are also eligible for work under the scheme, and the workplace should be accessible.
MGNREGA Scheme-Required Documents:
- पहचान प्रमाण: आधार कार्ड, वोटर आईडी कार्ड, पैन कार्ड, पासपोर्ट, ड्राइविंग लाइसेंस आदि।
- एड्रेस प्रूफ: आधार कार्ड, वोटर आईडी कार्ड, बिजली का बिल, पानी का बिल, टेलीफोन बिल आदि।
- बैंक खाता विवरण: भुगतान प्राप्त करने के लिए आवेदक को अपना बैंक खाता नंबर और IFSC कोड प्रदान करना होगा।
- फोटोग्राफ: आवेदक का हालिया पासपोर्ट साइज फोटो।
- जॉब कार्ड: योजना के तहत पंजीकरण कराने के बाद आवेदक को जॉब कार्ड जारी किया जाता है।
- आय प्रमाण पत्र: ग्राम पंचायत द्वारा जारी एक प्रमाण पत्र जो पुष्टि करता है कि परिवार की वार्षिक आय सरकार द्वारा निर्धारित निर्धारित सीमा से अधिक नहीं है।
- विकलांगता प्रमाण पत्र: यदि आवेदक के पास विकलांगता है, तो उन्हें सरकारी अस्पताल या मेडिकल बोर्ड द्वारा जारी विकलांगता प्रमाण पत्र प्रदान करना होगा।
- भूमि स्वामित्व दस्तावेज: यदि आवेदक के पास भूमि है, तो उन्हें अपनी पात्रता साबित करने के लिए भूमि स्वामित्व दस्तावेज प्रदान करने की आवश्यकता है।
- जाति प्रमाण पत्र: यदि आवेदक अनुसूचित जाति या अनुसूचित जनजाति से संबंधित है, तो उन्हें एक सक्षम प्राधिकारी द्वारा जारी जाति प्रमाण पत्र प्रदान करना होगा।
- शैक्षिक योग्यता प्रमाण पत्र: यदि आवेदक ने अपनी शिक्षा पूरी कर ली है, तो उन्हें अपना शैक्षिक योग्यता प्रमाण पत्र प्रदान करना होगा।
FAQ:
उत्तर: सभी ग्रामीण परिवार जिनके वयस्क सदस्य अकुशल शारीरिक कार्य करने के इच्छुक हैं, मनरेगा योजना के लिए पात्र हैं।
उत्तर: मनरेगा योजना के तहत भुगतान की जाने वाली मजदूरी केंद्र सरकार द्वारा निर्धारित की जाती है और एक राज्य से दूसरे राज्य में भिन्न होती है। योजना के तहत न्यूनतम मजदूरी रु। 202 प्रति दिन।
उत्तर: पात्र परिवार मनरेगा योजना के लिए अपने निकटतम ग्राम पंचायत में या आधिकारिक मनरेगा योजना वेबसाइट के माध्यम से ऑनलाइन पंजीकरण कर सकते हैं।
उत्तर: मनरेगा योजना के कार्यान्वयन की निगरानी सोशल ऑडिट के माध्यम से की जाती है, जिसमें सामुदायिक भागीदारी और कार्यान्वयन प्रक्रिया की समीक्षा शामिल होती है।
उत्तर: मनरेगा योजना का जल संरक्षण संरचनाओं के निर्माण, वनीकरण और मृदा संरक्षण उपायों के माध्यम से प्राकृतिक संसाधन प्रबंधन और संरक्षण को बढ़ावा देकर पर्यावरण पर सकारात्मक प्रभाव पड़ता है।
नरेगा योजना का मुख्य उद्देश्य यह सुनिश्चित करना है कि आर्थिक रूप से कमजोर वर्ग के लोगों के पास आजीविका का स्रोत मौजूद हो। इसके माध्यम से आजीविका को सुदृढ़ करना और गरीब लोगों को संसाधनों की पहुंच प्रदान करना। नरेगा का उद्देश्य समाज के कमजोर वर्ग को भी सम्मिलित करना है। इसके साथ ही, यह योजना पूरे भारत में पंचायती राज प्रतिष्ठानों को मजबूत करने का लक्ष्य रखती है।
Conclusion:
MGNREGA scheme is an important rural employment scheme that has provided employment opportunities, income support and asset creation to millions of rural households in India. The scheme has significantly impacted rural development and has contributed to reducing poverty, empowering women and promoting sustainable development in rural areas.
However, the scheme faces several challenges, which need to be addressed by the government to ensure its continued effectiveness.