Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was implemented in 2005 by the Congress-led UPA government in Parliament. Under this, a rural family got the right to get a minimum of 100 days of employment from the government and today this scheme or act is the most employment generating scheme in the world which is an example in the world.

How does the MNREGA scheme work:
The MNREGA law works on the basis of demand. If an adult from a rural family whose age is above 18 years and he wants to do unskilled labor in MNREGA, then he can ask for 100 days of employment in his village from the Panchayat of his village or from the Block Panchayat Development Officer or from the District Deputy Commissioner. If the government cannot provide him employment within 15 days, then he becomes entitled to get unemployment allowance. He can get allowance ranging from 25% of the wages to wages equal to 100 days of employment. This law is not only based on the demand of the workers but they can also get the proposal of the employment to be given passed in the Gram Sabha as to what work they have to do for the development of the village and also get employment.

Therefore it is important that the workers working in the village should be motivated to demand employment. There are 260 types of work available which are done by various departments in the villages. Gram Panchayat is the first executive department of MNREGA. MNREGA work is done by the families living in the village whose ration card and voter card should be of the village only. There is one mate for 50 workers who is selected by the Gram Sabha who does the work of marking attendance and measuring the work. The daily wage of a MNREGA worker is equal to the minimum declared daily wage of a farm worker of that state. In the MNREGA law, the daily wage is based on measurement.

If any labourer does not get work despite asking for work, then that labourer becomes entitled to unemployment allowance within 15 days of asking for work, although very few people have received unemployment allowance till now or say almost none. But to get the allowance, after 15 days of asking for work, the labourer can apply for unemployment allowance in the Panchayat, or with the BDPO or with the District Deputy Commissioner. The way to get unemployment allowance is that if you do not get work for 30 days after 15 days of asking for work, then you are entitled to receive 25% of your wages sitting at home, if you do not get work for 30 days to 60 days, then you are entitled to receive 40% of your wages sitting at home and if you do not get work for the whole year, then you are entitled to receive wages equivalent to 100 days sitting at home. If you do not get work or allowance within 15 days, then you can petition in the MNREGA Tribunal and the High Court, but you should have proof of the demand for work in the form of a copy of the application. Regarding MNREGA, whether it is about demanding work or allowance, you can file an RTI in the BDPO (Block Development and Panchayat Officer) office.

The Government of India has strictly instructed the Panchayats that the work that the Panchayats get done in the village without tender should be done by MNREGA workers without machines and the work of all the departments related to the Panchayats, whether it is Railways, Irrigation Department, Construction Department, Forest Department etc., has also been instructed that whatever work they get done in the village and that work comes in the list of works to be done under MNREGA, then it should be done by MNREGA workers. If they do not get it done, then legal action can be taken against that department, so you should have a list of 260 works. If any of those works is being done by machine, then you can stop that work by applying to the concerned department if the workers there have demanded work. If even then the department or the Panchayat do not agree, then the workers can file an FIR against them.