MGNREGA DEMAND AND RURAL DISTRESS

Civil society activists and people working on the ground believe that the August decline in demand for work under the programme is artificially created due to fund shortage

- SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

Demand for work under the flagship Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) slumped in August 2024. Data shows that in the month, around 16.06 million households sought work under the scheme, the lowest monthly demand since October 2022.

Though this number is still higher than pre-Covid levels, it suggests an improvement in rural job markets from various angles.

The active monsoon and the surge in kharif sowing activities this year could also be a reason behind the dip in demand as manual casual labourers could be getting better work somewhere else.

Distress employment scheme

Several experts concur that MGNREGA is a distress employment scheme. A drop in demand indicates that fewer people are seeking temporary work at low wages compared to other occupations.

Data shows that throughout FY24, the number of people seeking work under the scheme progressively decreased each month.

Civil society activists and people working on the ground, however, believe that the decline in work demand is artificially created due to fund shortage for the programme.

This means that when wages are delayed or funds don't reach the actual beneficiaries on time, their interest in the programme wanes.

There are also allegations that actual demand is not being captured at the panchayat level to keep budgetary outgo within limits.

Technological interventions such as Aadhaar-based attendance systems, mandatory Aadhaar-linked bank accounts for payments, GPS tracking of worksites, etc., have also discouraged workers from seeking employment under the scheme.

Research by LibTech India shows that the percentage of workers added shot up during FY21, when the pandemic was at its peak, and migrant workers returned home in large numbers, needing MGNREGA's guaranteed employment.