Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act progress dismal in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Under the Central government's MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, only 21,543 households got 100-day job opportunities across Assam till date. With just three months left for the present fiscal (April 1 2020-March 31, 2021) to be completed, the progress of this scheme in the State is indeed quite poor.

The MGNREGA is a labour law and social-security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. The Parliament passed this Act in September 2005. It aims to enhance livelihood security in the rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The scheme in Assam is implemented by the 'Panchayat & Rural Development Department'.

Official data indicate that 55.74 lakh households received the mandatory job cards under the scheme in Assam during the mentioned period. Of these, the active job card holders are 33.11 lakh across the 32 districts of the State. At the bottom of the list is Kamrup Metro district where only 11 households have got work opportunities till date. The other low-performing districts (up to 300 households) are Udalguri (15 households) followed by Sibsagar (63); Cachar (86); Dima Hasao (102); Baksa (107); Jorhat (109); Tinsukia (140); Charaideo (190); Sonitpur (220); Morigaon (241); Goalpara (251); and Hailakandi (259 households).

On the other hand, the districts having slightly better performances are Nalbari (3,057 households); Lakhimpur (2,957); Barpeta (2,179); Kamrup (1,877); Nagaon (1,876); Chirang (1,345), and Majuli (1,226 households).

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