Expert Studies suggest rural regeneration due to MGNREGA
Several independent studies on the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA in rural areas have demonstrated improvement in living standards of the beneficiaries of the scheme. Though no specific government study was conducted on the subject, reputed Institutions and agencies like Indian Institute of Management, IIM Kolkata and Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru have conducted studies in select districts indicating positive impact of MGNREGA on income levels, food security, wage rates, migration, social benefits, agriculture, health and education. The Study entitled Socio-Economic impacts of Implementation of MGNREGA by Council for Social Development in Tribal Areas of Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh has noted that the implementation of the job scheme has contributed in increasing the food security of the rural masses and a major portion of the increased income earned through NREGA was spent on food consumption. The beneficiaries were also able to construct house on their own land due to additional income. A different study conducted by the Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru in Chitradurga district, Karnataka has found reduction in water vulnerability index, agriculture vulnerability and livelihood vulnerability index. There have also been increase in ground water level, water percolation and improvement in soil fertility that have led to improvement of land productivity. On the migration front, a study by the Indian Institute of Management in Raichur and Gulbarga districts in Karnataka, Adilabad and Anantpur districts in Andhra Pradesh suggested that 98 percent of the beneficiaries had not migrated from the villages for work. Similarly, a study by University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru in 4 districts, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Shimoga and Hassan of Karnataka has noted improvement in water table and ground water recharge that has led to practice of double cropping in all districts. The information was given by the Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Jain in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
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