The flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme continues to lose its popularity as in the just concluded 2012-13 financial year, against the promise of 100 days of job guarantee only 39 average manday could be achieved, which was 42 in the previous year. Further, Uttar Pradesh continues to be a state in contrast where women participation in the job scheme is a mere 20 per cent against about 50 per cent national average, much less that Scheduled Castes (SCs), which was 33 per cent.
Even though the just concluded financial year witnessed a wayward monsoon, with a number of states, including Maharashtra and Karnataka, registering worst drought in decades, the demand for the rural job scheme does not appear to be picking up.
Against total job demand of 4.84 crore mandays, a total of 4.81 crore mandays jobs were given in 2012-13 against 4.98 crore in 2011-12. While a total of 95.69 lakhs works were taken up in various states under the rural job scheme, only 13.59 lakh of them were complete, with the rest 82 lakhs were stated to be in the progress.
However, the women participation overall has climbed up in the flagship scheme for the national average, which was 52 per cent in 2012-13 against 48 per cent in 2011-12. But the case of UP appears to be curious, as the state saw the women participation in the rural job scheme at a mere 19 per cent in 2012-13 against 17 per cent in 2011-12.
Much below the national average participation of women comes in stark contrast to states like Kerala (93 per cent), Tamil Nadu (78 per cent), Rajasthan (69 per cent), Maharashtra (44 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (42 per cent), Karnataka (46 per cent), Bihar (30 per cent).
While the MNREGA offers the statutory 100 days of employment, the households getting it are also on the decline. While in 2011-12, a total of 39 lakh households had availed of 100 days of employment under the flagship scheme, the number has come down to 29 lakh in 2012-13, which is a sharp decline 25 per cent in itself. Additionally, over 5 crore jobs were demanded in 2011-12, the same came down to 4.84 crore in 2012-13.
The continued loss of popularity of the MNREGA is despite the fact that the Centre had added about 28 new kinds of jobs under the flagship scheme.