I. INTRODUCTION:

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005, enacted on 25th August 2005, guarantees 100 days of employment in a financial year to any rural household whose adult members are willing to do unskilled manual work. The Act has come into force with effect from February 2, 2006 in 200 districts initially and later on extended to all the rural districts of India from the financial year 2008-09. NREGA is the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment at an unprecedented scale. The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment.

It was initially called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) but was renamed on 2 October 2009 as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

MGNREGA is the most significant act in the history of Indian polity in many ways like grass-root level participation of every citizen and beneficiary through democratic process, multi-layered social audit and transparency mechanism by involvement of civil society, comprehensive planning at village level towards sustainable and equitable development etc. Important salient feature of the Act is to improve the quality of life of rural households who are vulnerable to out-migration in search of daily wage employment by channelizing the wage workforce towards developmental activities at the village level itself.

Rural India has seen numerous ups and downs since independence. Rural development has been a crucial issue for states with large number of rural population as various programmes were launched for the development of poor and marginal people living in rural areas. Role of rural areas in development of the country like India needs no proof as it is evident from the orientation of government policies that rural areas are acting as drive engines for growth of the country. The government in the recent past has framed numerous schemes and programmes for the development of rural areas of the country in order to tap the resources for betterment of rural masses. The employment scheme like MGNREGA holds special importance for drought-based district like Kalburgi, which has faced great challenges in development process because of its tough drought and rainfall constraints. The development of Kalburgi district of Karnataka state remain a matter of concern to the policy makers as the people of the area face challenges like unemployment, poverty and migration. The introduction of wage programmes like MGNREGA in the area have helped to provide a thrust to the development process and can therefore be termed as a boon for the rural people due to its demand-oriented approach which makes the authorities responsible and as well as accountable for providing employment to individuals. It is evidently found that there are numerous cases of migrations from villages to cities seeking employment. In this background the present study is an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of MGNREGA programme in Kalburgi district of Karnataka state. Out of seven blocks I have chosen one block namely Aland; from this block tow grama panchayats in proportion to their numbers in each block were selected. In all 75 sample respondents are selected through Simple Stratified random sampling method ensuring representation to every selected gram panchyat. The present study focuses on the impact of this programme on the socio-economic conditions of the rural economy beneficiaries in Kalburgi district of Karnataka state

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

This section makes a modest attempt to survey the existing literature on MGNREGA across the country. Reviewing the previous literature stems out the need and justification of the study to be carried out. It serves as a foundation for the future research work to be undertaken. It provides a clear orientation for the researcher to strengthen his methodological background, to understand the conceptual framework of the study and to identify the research gap upon which the research study will be carried. Further in the context of the study, the literature review helps the researcher to understand the entire process of this flagship programme, its planning, implementation, performance, transparency, accountability and other related issues.

Jaswal and Paulomee’s (2007) study summary reported on “will MGNREGA ensure security against hunger” in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra concluded that 42% of the cases creation of new ponds and depending or cleaning of existing once was undertaken 26% of cases, work related to road construction and maintenance was provided, check-dam related work formed16% of the case, rest of the cases comprised of work like canal maintenance and mud–work (digging and carrying) hence it is clear that the emphasis is on creation of assets which form a part of the basic infrastructure for the community.

Deshingkar et al. (2009) argue that a majority of the seasonal migrants, many of whom are SCs and STs, are poor, and for them migration is a household strategy for managing risk where one or more members of family go away from the village to find work, and that this is a central part of their livelihoods. Whether or not seasonal migration is a coping strategy or becomes more accumulative, depends on a number of factors including improved work availability, rising wages, cutting out intermediaries, and improving skills. Samarthan (2010) has also assessed the impact of MGNREGA in Madhya Pradesh especially on individual households, labor market, migration and sustaining livelihoods. It also tried to assess the status of access, awareness, transparency, accountability and institutional arrangements. It found that very few people were demanding work and only half of it had received work. Most of the wage payments was done in cash despite mandatory provision of payment through bank account. As far as impact is concerned, MGNREGA had positive impact on road development, enhancing irrigation thorough increase in surface and ground water and thereby improving the cropping pattern. It recommended large scale awareness campaigns, simplification of job card process, effective accountability through Gram Panchayat, investing in bank infrastructure, intensive capacity building and linking of NREGA plan with integrated district planning. Kumar and Joshi (2013) examined the changes in household food consumption and nutritional security of poor rural households and has assessed the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) on the dietary pattern and nutritional status of these households using NSSO data. It observed that the economically weaker states of the country have been benefitted maximum and have implemented the MGNREGA more vigorously and the raise in income could lead to increase in food consumption. Further diversification in the dietary pattern and substantial increase in calorie-intake and protein intake had been observed which led to a decrease in the undernourished and nutrition-deficit households by 8-9 per cent. Natesan and Rahul Ratnakar (2017) evaluated the MGNREGA programme in India through Data Envelopment Approach. It developed an efficiency evaluation model to evaluate the programme and to compare relative efficiency of MGNREGA implementing states. It uses policy implementation process as a central “black-box” to account for state-wise implementation differences. Based on administration, funds, expenditure, employment created, works executed and completed, women beneficiaries and households completing 100 days of employment, it captured current implementation efficiency. The model developed serves as a decision-support mechanism and will assist evaluators for reframing the guidelines for proper implementation in inefficient states.

III. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Kalburgi district in Karnataka state are among the 200 backward districts in which this programme was implemented in II phase. Agriculture is predominant sector in the district economy with 65% of population employed in agriculture. But the district is a drought prone area. Agriculture is the largest employer in Kalburgi, with over 65% of the working population engaged in it; approximately 80% of female workers in Kalburgi are engaged in agriculture. Like most of north Karnataka, Kalburgi is very rich in black soil which is conducive to the cultivation of cotton. Kalburgi's economy was valued at US$5.6 billion, making it the 12^th largest economy in Karnataka.

Map.No.3.1.Kalburgi District Map.

Source: https://www.veethi.com/places/karnataka-Kalburgi-district-74.htm

In this context the present study tries to analyze the impact of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme on socio-economic conditions in Kalburgi district. And also tries to analyze the impact of the Programme on the livelihood of the people through examine distributional dimensions of MGNREGA in terms of income and consumption of the poor households in rural areas. The present study is confined itself to examine the effectiveness of the Programme provided by the Government from the angle of rural unskilled labourers’ as well as to see the impact of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in particularly on the socio-economic condition of the rural people in Kalburgi district in terms of employment generation and rural asset creations.

IV. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The present study aims at examining the Role of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in Socio-economic conditions of a people in Kalburgi District. For this purpose following objectives have been outlined.

· To examine the impact of MGNREGA on socio economic development of beneficiaries in Kalburgi district of Karnataka State.

· To find out the bottlenecks in the implementation of MGNREGA in the study area.

· To analyses the wage, work conditions and the expenditure pattern of earnings from the study area.

· To suggest strategies for effective implementation of MGNREGA in Kalburgi district of Karnataka state.

V. MGNREGA & Rural Economic Development:

In order to address poverty effectively through provision of wage employment, the Central Government formulated the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in 2005, a paradigm shift from earlier programmes. With its legal framework and right-based approach, NREGA provides employment to those who demand it- an exclusive feature, which differentiates it from routine schemes. Notified on September 7, 2005, it was formally launched in Ananthpur District of Andhra Pradesh on February 2, 2006. NREGA aims at enhancing livelihood security by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The Act covered 200 districts in its first phase, implemented in 2006 and was extended to 130 additional districts in 2007-2008. All the remaining rural areas have been notified with effect from April 1, 2008. This Programme was formerly known as National Food for Work Programme. Again the Government of India (GOI) on 2nd October, 2009 renamed its flagship Rural Job Guarantee Programme- the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). MGNREGA is the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment at an unprecedented scale. The potential of MGNREGA spans a range of possibilities. The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. The choice of works suggested in the Act addresses chronic poverty through measures like drought proofing, regeneration of vegetative cover and soil and water conservation, so that the process of employment generation is maintained on a sustainable basis. The Act is also a significant vehicle for strengthening decentralization and deepening processes of democracy by giving a prime role to local governance bodies, that is, the Panchayat Raj Institutions. Hence, MGNREGA is the most significant Act in the history of Indian polity in many ways like grassroot level participation of every citizen and beneficiary through democratic process, multi-layered social audit and transparency mechanism by involvement of civil society organizations, comprehensive planning at village level towards sustainable and equitable development, is getting monitored at various levels. Gram Sabha monitors the work at the village level, while Gram Panchayat monitors works executed by other implementing agencies. Intermediate Panchayat and Progmme.Officer check the registration of households, employment provided, unemployment allowance paid, social audit, flow of funds, payment of wages, progress and quality of work. District Panchayat and District Programme Coordinator keep monitoring all aspects of implementation. State Government keeps watch on performance of all districts. State level and district level Vigilance and Monitoring Committees are constituted by Ministry of Rural Development to supervise MGNREGA.

Table 1 Job Card Status under MGNREGA in Karnataka State.

Year	Total Job cards	SC Job cards	ST Job cards	Non SC/ST Jobcards	% of SC	% of ST	% of Non SC/ST
Karnataka
2006-07	1390512	441525	268193	680794	31.75	19.29	48.96
2007-08	1523091	456933	239795	826363	30.00	15.74	54.26
2008-09	3420945	884130	409981	2126834	25.84	11.98	62.17
2009-10	5220895	959388	458642	3802865	18.38	8.78	72.84
2010-11	5294245	925537	450319	3918389	17.48	8.51	74.01
2012-13	5464013	936396	460213	4067404	17.14	8.42	74.44
2013-14	5557539	927708	452422	4177409	16.69	8.14	75.17
2014-15	5519714	915260	448326	4156128	16.58	8.12	75.30
2015-16	5576206	934884	464459	4176863	16.77	8.33	74.91
2016-17	5244860	875125	427957	3941778	16.69	8.16	75.16
TGR	15.41	7.06	5.77	20.53	-	-	-

Note: TGR refers to Trend Growth Rate

Source: NREGA’s public portal accessed on 8^th July 2017

In Karnataka State, the total job-cards issued to rural households marginally increased with a growth rate of 48.96 to 75.16 per cent during the period 2006-07 to 2016-17. With respect to SC and ST job-cards, the growth rate was negative during this period because the number of job cards issued to SC and ST households witnessed decline. While the number of job-cards issued to non SC/ST households noticed increase with positive growth rate of 5.77 per cent. With regard to the share of SC and ST job cards to the total job-cards, it is noticed that they have witnessed decline during this period.

Chart.No.1. Job Card Status under MGNREGA in Karnataka State.

VII. Employment Status under MGNREGA:

MGNREGA is quite different from the other wage employment programmes because it is demand-driven. Rural households who need jobs can demand them and the government is legally bound to provide it. Table 2 provides the share of employment provided to the employment demanded under MGNREGA.

Table 2 Employment Status under MGNREGA in Karnataka State

Year	Karnataka
Year	Total Employment Demanded	Total Employment Provided	% of provided to demanded
2006-07	1017715	1011021	99.34
2007-08	554002	549994	99.28
2008-09	906503	896212	98.86
2009-10	3626437	3535281	97.49
2010-11	2414441	2224468	92.13
2011-12	4591902	4591450	99.99
2012-13	1470412	1331967	90.58
2013-14	1909384	1900526	99.54
2014-15	1513650	1482457	97.94
2015-16	1662438	1617408	97.29
2016-17	2151859	2095632	97.39
TGR	7.44	7.27	-

Source: NREGA’s public portal accessed on 8^th July 2017

It reveals that the growth in number of households demanding employment under MGNREGA has steadily increased across Karnataka. This is evident from the growth rates which stood positive at 7.44 per cent in Karnataka. It is noticed that the share is more than 95 per cent and has marginally declined over the period in Karnataka state. On an average, the share in Karnataka stood at 97.26 per cent.

Across State, there is constant growth with increasing in nature with regard to number of person days generated under MGNREGA.

Chart.No.2. Employment Status under MGNREGA in Karnataka State.

The growth rate for SCs stood at 131.81 per cent, for SCs and it was 86.73 for STs per cent and for women it was 201.00 per cent during the period 2006-07. The average person days generated for SCs during this period was 114 lakhs. For STs, the average person days generated was 1.14 lakhs. It stood highest for women with 2.14 lakhs during this period.

Table 3 Person days generated under MGNREGA (in lakhs)

Year	Karnataka
Year	Person days_SC	Person days_ST	Person days Women
2006-07	131.81	86.73	201.00
2007-08	59.79	37.94	96.00
2008-09	79.89	39.91	145.03
2009-10	334.65	171.79	737.04
2010-11	177.39	102.72	505.08
2012-13	104.36	55.42	285.74
2013-14	114.23	57.05	334.91
2014-15	68.66	35.45	203.04
2015-16	97.76	53.79	281.98
2016-17	146.09	84.05	432.03

Source: NREGA’s public portal accessed on 8^th July 2017

VII. Methodological Approach of the study:

The study has been designed under the frame work of both primary and secondary data. The study covers the period from 2006-07 to 2016-17. The sample villages are selected in two categories like Developed village and Under Developed village which are in the neighborhood of main taluka road, the village which succeed in undertaking comparatively more activities under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme Programme. Keeping in view these parameters 02 Gram Panchayat villages are selecting i.e., 2 each from sample Taluka.

VIII. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS:

Table 4 Particulars of sample Gram Panchayat and Villages selected in Kalburgi District.

Block	Gram Panchayat	Village	No. of samples
Chitapur	Balwadgi	Balwadgi	64
	Madbol	Madbol	49
Total			113

Table 5 Caste Composition of the Sample Respondents in the Study Area

Sl. No.	Name of Taluka	Name of Gram Panchayat	Caste Composition of the Sample Respondents
Sl. No.	Name of Taluka	Name of Gram Panchayat	SC	ST	General	OBC	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	22	10	04	13	49
1	Chitapur	Madbol	30	17	06	11	64
	Total		52	27	10	24	113

Source: Primary data

The social capital in this study is discussed in relation to caste and social networks. The identification of caste is still evident in every part of the rural Karnataka, and, in many ways, caste reflects people’s social belonging and status. The above table represents the caste composition of the sample respondents in the study area. A large number of respondents i.e., about 42.66 per cent belong to SC category, and about 24per cent of respondents belong to ST category and only a little number 10 per cent of them belongs to General Category. The rest i.e, 23.33 per cent belongs to OBC categories are working under MGNREGA programme.

As the primary data reveals that even today the majority of the people working under MGNREGA are not only economically weaker but also socially weaker. Those who are in the lower strata of the caste hierarchy are in majority working under this programme. This signifies that there is a high co relation between socially backward and economically backward. As the analysis shows that the majority of the people who are residing in this region belonging to SC category are economically and socially weaker compared with the other categories of people.

Table 7 Nature of Work of the Sample Respondents under MGNREGA

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Nature of work					Total
Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Land develop ment	Flood control	Rural connec tivity	Water conser vation	Drought proofing	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	29	04	07	22	07	69
1	Chitapur	Madbol	26	02	03	28	02	61
	Total		55	06	10	50	09	113

Source: Primary data

Table 8 Yearly Income of the Sample Respondents before Joining to MGNREGA Work

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Yearly income of the sample respondents before joining toMGNREGA work						Total
Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	5000	5001-8000	8001-12000	12001-16000	16001-20000	20001 <	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	19	28	11	14	08	03	83
1	Chitapur	Madbol	10	20	21	05	02	02	60
Total			29	48	33	19	10	05	113

Source: Primary data

Table 9 Yearly Income of the Sample Respondents after Joining to MGNREGA Work

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Yearly income of the sample respondents after joining to MGNREGA work						Total
Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	5000	5001-8000	8001-12000	12001-16000	16001-20000	20001 <	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	08	16	18	24	12	06	84
1	Chitapur	Madbol	04	12	08	15	05	04	48
Total			12	28	26	39	17	10	113

Source: Primary data

Table 10 Migration Status of the Sample Respondents before the MGNREGA Programme

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Migration status				Total
Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayat	Other village	Other district	Other state	Non- migrants	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	11	23	15	22	71
1	Chitapur	Madbol	14	20	22	23	79
	Total		25	43	37	45	113

Source: Primary data

Table 11 Migration Status of the Sample Respondents after the MGNREGA Programme

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayath	Migration status				Total
Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayath	Other village	Other district	Other state	Non- migrants	Total
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	08	20	05	22	71
1	Chitapur	Madbol	10	08	10	23	79
	Total		18	28	15	52	113

Source: Primary data

Table 12 Satisfactory Status of the Sample Respondents with MGNREGA Work

Sl. No.	Name of Taluk	Name of Gram Panchayath Village	Satisfactory status		Total
			Satisfied	Dissatisfied
1	Chitapur	Balwadgi	25	20	45
		Madbol	51	17	68
	Total		76	37	113

Source: Primary data

As the table no. 11 depicts that the majority of the people 25.18 percent had migrated to other states. Before the implementation of the MGNREGA programme 30.00 percent respondents of the study migrated to other districts. It was also found that 12.35 percent of the people were non-migrants. Further, only 10 percent of the people had migrated to other villages. The above analysis of the data clearly indicates that there is a huge reduction in migration level after the implementation of the MGNREGA programme in the study area.

Table-12 shows that most of the respondents are satisfied with the MGNREGA works, which means 76 per cent and 24 per cent of the sample respondents are dissatisfied with the MGNREGA works under the programme of MGNREGA villagers obtained numerous employment opportunities which constrained them from migrating to cities.

VII. Findings, Policy Implications and Concluding Remark:

7.1. Findings: the study findings are as follows in below:

· The study found that caste composition of the sample respondents in the study area. A large number of respondents i.e., about 42.66 per cent belong to SC category, and about 24per cent of respondents belong to ST category and only a little number 10 per cent of them belongs to General Category. The rest i.e, 23.33 per cent belongs to OBC categories are working under MGNREGA programme.

· The found that 5.3 show that when all the villages taken together, the percentage of the illiteracy is 52 per cent. Whereas the respondents with secondary and high school education constitute only a little over 12 and 7 percentage.

· The study found that a majority of workers have been assigned in the land development related work, it’s 35.00 per cent. And 16.87 per cent of respondents are workers in the rural connectivity. 28.45% per cent of respondents work in water conservation and 11.56 per cent of the respondents work in drought proofing.

· The study shows that most of the respondents 29.6% from all the village are earning .5001 to Rs.8000 their yearly income which hows the very low income before they joined to MGNREGA work and 20.95 per cent of the respondents earn was .9000 to .12000 of yearly income. About 15.93 per cent of the respondents’ earnings was .13000 to .16000 of Yearly income and 9.37 per cent of respondents earning was .170000 to .20000 and the rest of the 5.32 per cent of the respondents earning was above .20000 more than before they joined to MGNREGA work which shows the very low level yearly income.

· The study shows that the majority of the people 32.3 percent had migrated to other states. Before the implementation of the MGNREGA programme 25.6 percent respondents of the study migrated to other districts.

· The study shows that most of the respondents are satisfied with the MGNREGA works, which means 76 per cent and 24 per cent of the sample respondents are dissatisfied with the MGNREGA works under the programme of MGNREGA villagers obtained numerous employment opportunities which constrained them from migrating to cities.

7.2. Policy Implications:

Some suggestions are incorporated here on the basis of field observations and interactions with enlightened village people.

· Kalburgidistricts deserve special attention in monitoring, supervision and follow-up action. Special monitors may be appointed to check things and bring all those involved in irregularities to book.

· The Grama Sabha should be made more participatory and strengthened to take up social auditing in the study area.

· Panchayat should be empowered financially and job responsibility should be distributed to all the elected members. Some amount of MGNREGA programmes may be granted as remuneration to elected panchayat members in the study area.

· There should be frequent audit of accounts and registers of MGNREGA by the district/ state audit agencies.

· There is a need to streamline and intensify MGNREGA monitoring. The new guidelines of MGNREGA stipulates 100% verification of muster rolls.

· Using official machinery for this purpose may not yield desired results. Involving civil society organizations may be considered.

· As part of regular monitoring, specific tasks and relevant formats may be designed for Collectors, PDs, BDOs, Sectoral Heads of related line departments and ensure that these officials send feed back to district and state levels. The follow-up and corrective action should also be documented.

· The respondents have a suggestion to increase the wage rate from 250 to 300 to 400 because of increase in the food grain prices.

· In Kalburgidistrict some part of the villages are not having full awareness about the programme and the performance of the programme is very low in some pat of the talukas so the officials should take for the effective implementation of the programme in the backward areas.

· A package of work site facilities is also an important entitlement of workers. Apart from taking care of the welfare of workers, these facilities raise the level of productivity of workers. The strong monitoring of the facilities by the administration will be useful.

7.3. CONCLUDING REMARK:

There is also a need to carry out further research studies intensively in analyzing the various factors involving the effective implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme in the district which may help to develop an appropriate strategy to implement the programme very effectively in the Kalburgi district.

REFERENCES:

1. Borah Kabita, Rimjhim Bordoloi (2014) “MGNREGA and its Impact on Daily Waged Women Workers: A Case study of Sonitpur District of Assam” IOSR Journal of Economics and Finance, Volume 4, Issue 4. (Jul-Aug. 2014), PP 40-44.

2. Dutta, S. (2009). NREGA in West Bengal: Success and Challenges. Kurukshetra, 58 (2), 31.

3. Hazarika, P.G. (2009). Promoting Women Empowerment and Gender Equality through the Right to Decent Work: Implementation of National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) in Assam State (India): A Case Study.

4. Kar Spandita (2013) “Empowerment of Women Through MGNREGS : Issues and Challenges” Odisha Review, February - March – 2013

5. Khera, R. & Nayak, N. (2009). Woman Workers and Perceptions of the NREGA. Economic and Political Weekly, 44, 49-57.

6. Poonia Jyoti (2012) “Critical Study of MGNREGA: Impact and women’s participation” International Journal of Human Development and Management Sciences, Vol. 1 No. 1 ISSN: 2250-8714.

7. Pankaj, A. &Tankha, R. (2010). Empowerment Effects of the NREGS on Women Workers: A Study in Four States. Economic and Political Weekly, 30, 45-55.

8. Ramesh, G. & Kumar, T.K. (2009). Facet of Rural Women Empowerment: A Study in Karimnagar District in Andhra Pradesh. Kurukshetra, 58, 29- 30.

9. http://nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx (Last visited on 16th August, 2016).

Received on 28.04.2020 Modified on 18.05.2020

Res. J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 2020; 11(3):199-206.

DOI: 10.5958/2321-5828.2020.00034.0