MGNREGA, which guarantees employment to every family in rural areas, is completing 16 years of its implementation on February 2. The then Prime Minister of the country, Dr. Manmohan Singh, started the implementation of ‘MNREGA’ i.e. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) on February 2, 2006 from Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. In the first phase, it was implemented in 200 most backward districts of the country. In the second phase in the year 2007-08, 130 more districts were included in it. In the third phase, on 1 April 2008, it was extended to the rest of the rural districts of the country. In view of the scope and impact of this scheme, starting with the name of ‘NREGA’, the name of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was added to it on 2 October 2009, considering it in the scenario of Gram Swaraj.
In Chhattisgarh, 60.19 lakh workers of record 30.6 lakh families got work last year.
MGNREGA was launched in Chhattisgarh on February 2, 2006 from Arjuni Gram Panchayat of Dongargaon block of Rajnandgaon district. The expansion of this scheme in the state also took place in three phases. In the first phase, it was implemented in 11 out of 16 districts on 2 February 2006. These included Bastar, Bilaspur, Dantewada, Dhamtari, Jashpur, Kanker, Kabirdham, Koriya, Raigad, Rajnandgaon and Surguja districts. In the second phase, from 1 April 2007, four more districts namely Raipur, Janjgir-Champa, Korba and Mahasamund were included in the scheme. Durg district was also included in the third phase from 1st April 2008. At present, MNREGA is effective in all 28 districts of the state.
The journey of MGNREGA in Chhattisgarh in the last 16 years has been spectacular. Starting from providing employment to 12 lakh 57 thousand families in the year 2006-07, this journey has reached more than 30 lakh 60 thousand families in the last financial year 2020-21. Last year, 60 lakh 19 thousand workers of record 30 lakh 60 thousand families got work through MNREGA in the state. In lieu of this, the highest ever wages of Rs 3493 crore 34 lakh were paid to the workers. In the current financial year 2021-22 also, 49 lakh 28 thousand workers of 26 lakh 28 thousand families have been given employment in ten months (from April-2021 to January-2022). During the Corona period, MNREGA gave life to the rural economy. In the era of nationwide lock-down implemented to prevent corona infection, it continuously provided employment to the villagers and brought money to their pockets. 5721 crore 50 lakh rupees to MGNREGA workers in the last two years Wages have been paid. In the year 2020-21, Rs 3493 crore 34 lakh and in the current financial year Rs 2228 crore 16 lakh have been transferred to the hands of laborers. This has given great relief to the villagers during the Corona period. Due to this the rural economy remained unaffected even in adverse conditions.
Under MGNREGA, employment of more than 57 crore 53 lakh man-days has been created in the state in the last four years. During this, 13 crore 86 lakh man-days employment was made available to the villagers in the year 2018-19, 13 crore 62 lakh in 2019-20 and 18 crore 41 lakh man-days in 2020-21. In the current financial year 2021-22 also, 11 crore 65 lakh workers have been provided employment so far. Since the inception of the scheme, maximum employment of 18 crore 41 lakh man-days has been created in the year 2020-21, which is a new record for the state. In Chhattisgarh, an average of 60 days of employment per family was given in 2020-21 against the national average of 52 days. The average employment per family was 56 days in the year 2019-20 and 57 days in 2018-19. In the current financial year till January-2022, on an average, 44 days of employment has been given per family, while there are still two months left for the end of the financial year.
Under MNREGA, 100 days employment has been provided to more than 16 lakh 86 thousand families in the state in the last four years. During this, 100 days employment was provided to four lakh 28 thousand 372 families in 2018-19, four lakh 18 thousand 159 in 2019-20 and six lakh 11 thousand 988 families in 2020-21. In the current financial year so far, 100 days employment has been provided to two lakh 27 thousand 566 families.
The MGNREGA law is directly related to the lives of the rural poor, which encourages comprehensive development. This law is the first of its kind under which employment is guaranteed to the needy. Its objective is to enhance the livelihood security of the families of rural areas. Under MGNREGA, the target is to provide 100 days of guaranteed employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members want to do unskilled labor, on demand. The second goal of this scheme is to create durable assets and strengthen the livelihood base of the rural poor through this. The objective of this act is also to deal with the problem of poverty arising due to reasons like drought, deforestation, soil erosion, so that employment opportunities are created continuously.
