Enabling PRIs to perform

GOVERNANCE

pris rural organisations

Enabling PRIs to perform

One of MGNREGA’s most ‘bottom-up’ features is its reliance on rural local self-government structures, but are the panchayati raj institutions (PRIs) geared up?

By Abhilaksh Likhi

THE initiation and countrywide implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) represents a milestone in social policy and employment creation with its rights-based approach and focus on livelihood security. The flagship programme has benefitted millions of marginalised rural households by providing them with unskilled work and led to prevention of stress migration in lean agricultural seasons. A UNDP/Carnegie Endowment study points out that, from the scheme’s first year of operation in 2006-2007 till 2010-2011, job creation accelerated from less than 1 billion workdays distributed amongst 20 million households to 2.5 billion workdays for 50 million households. Read more..