Effectiveness of MGNREGS in COVID-19 Lockdown of 2020: A Case of Selected Villages of Palghar District, Maharashtra

Abstract

The national lockdown of 2020 implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has put Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the national spotlight because of its position as the support system for the nation's most vulnerable. Its effectiveness is imperative to dampen the impact of the lockdown, such as unemployment and reverse labour migration. Contextually, existing literature details the successes and failures of MGNREGS across districts in India in a pre-lockdown time frame with little focus on the lockdown as well as India's newest district -Palghar. To fill the gap in research, the paper uses secondary data from the Ministry of Rural Development to understand the wages and employment in Palghar district. Additionally, primary data from structured telephonic interviews of 40 beneficiaries and semi-structured interviews of Sarpanches of the four villages were used to understand the perception of beneficiaries on the scheme and the implementation process. The study finds that while MGNREGS provided employment to the returning migrants in Palghar, the beneficiaries received the wages below the notified wage rate. The untimely fund transfers created fund shortages and forced some villages (Sarpanches) to rely on borrowing for MGNREGS activities. Overall, the beneficiaries felt general dissatisfaction with the employment opportunity, asset creation and its overall impact on their livelihood. Doubling the fund allocation for Maharashtra would help in providing close to the 100 days of wage employment.