Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
The basic objective of MGNREGS is to create permanent productive asset by guaranteed wage employment of at least 100 days in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
The scheme focuses on employment of rural farmers/agricultural laborers by providing social security, empowering women and weaker sections, and strengthening Panchayat Raj Institutions.
Salient Features of MGNREGS
- The Central Government guarantees of at least 100 days employment in a financial year to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The Government of Maharashtra guarantees unskilled employment to laborers over and above 100 days.
- Every household residing in any rural area is entitled to a Job Card which contains the names and photographs of all adult members of the household so that they can demand and receive work. The Job Card is a key document that records job seekers details of work demanded and received wages, paid etc..
- Every adult member of a registered household whose name appears in the job card is entitled to demand and apply through multiple modes for unskilled manual work under the Scheme at Gram panchayat and work will be provided within fifteen days of demand or application.
- In case, the work is not allotted within due period, the wage seeker is entitled to have the unemployment allowance as per norms of MGRNEGS.
- The Gram Panchayat is responsible for identification of the projects in the Gram Panchayat area to be taken up under a Scheme as per the recommendations of the Gram Sabha. Every Adult member of rural household have a right to participate in the Gram Sabha and decide the works and the order of priority to be taken up under MGNREGS for their Panchayat.
- The worker has to be allocated to a worksite preferably within 5 km of her/ his residence. Work has to be definitely provided within the Block. If work is allocated to a worker beyond 5 km of his residence, the worker has a right to get a travel allowance.
- For all works taken up under the Scheme, by the Gram Panchayats and other implementing agencies, the cost of material component including the wages of the skilled and semi-skilled workers shall not exceed forty percent at the District level.
- As far as practicable, works executed by the programme implementing agencies shall be performed by using manual labour and no labour displacing machines shall be used.
- There are 266 combinations of works which are permissible under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. For the list of approved MGNREGS works please click here .
- At least 60% of the works to be taken up in a district in terms of cost shall be for creation of productive assets directly linked to agriculture and allied activities through development ofland, water and trees. With the thrust on development of livelihoods,
- Works prioritized in the convergent planning process for individual beneficiaries will be given priority.
- Works creating individual assets will be prioritized on land or homestead owned by households belonging to the:
- Schedule Caste
- Schedule Tribes
- Nomadic Tribes
- De-notified Tribes
- Other families below the poverty line
- Women-headed households
- Physically handicapped headed households
- Beneficiaries of land reforms
- The beneficiaries under the IAY/PMAY-Gramin
- Beneficiaries under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 (2 of 2007), and after exhausting the eligible beneficiaries under the above categories, on lands of the small or marginal farmers as defined in the Agriculture Debt Waiver and Debt Relief Scheme, 2008 subject to the condition that such households shall have a job card with at least one member willing to work on the project undertaken on their land or homestead.
- The facilities of safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest, first aid box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries at the work site.
- The worker is entitled to receive the notified wage rate within 15 days and failure to receive in due time further entitled to receive the payment of compensation at the rate of 0.05% of the unpaid wages per day of delay beyond the sixteenth day of closure of muster roll.
- Grievance redressal mechanisms which allow a worker/citizen to lodge complaint and trace the subsequent response. Multiple modes are enabled for the complainant to register a complaint and include written complaints, toll free help line and online grievance registration portal and mobile application.
