Impact assessment and performance of Mahatma Gandhi national employment guarantee act (MGNREGA) in Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act was launched on 2^nd February 2006 as a historic initiative towards pro-poor growth in the country. The Act guarantees 100 days of assured man-days employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. But due to administrative flaws, the performance of MGNREGA at national as well as at state level is very poor. The present study on evaluation of the MGNREGA scheme is intended to assess the performance & impact of this scheme on the overall quality of life of people by assessing different parameters associated with the scheme. The study was carried out in two community development blocks of district Pulwama, viz. block Shadimarg and block Newa. The tools employed on the data for obtaining logical results were descriptive statistics like averages, percentages, t-test, logit regression analysis and propensity score matching. The results of the study reveal less participation of weaker sections in sampled district. The percentage share of SCs, STs and Women stands 0.02 per cent, 4.34 per cent & 29.56 per cent respectively. The study further reveals that block wise financial and physical performance under MGNREGA depicts that the expenditure percentage has improved with the increase in wage rates. Due to better irrigation availability, 77 .8 per cent of respondents in block Shadimarg and 80 per cent in block Newa recorded that MGNREGA has positive impact on the increase in agriculture production and productivity. To conclude, the scheme demands a re-orientation so that it can generate productive assets in the economy. It needs a strong planning and some additional features that can enable it to perform well as a scheme to contribute towards the shift of the economy towards full employment path .