Socio-Economic Impact of Category B Assets Created Under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme : A Comparative Study in Bagalkot and Tumakuru Districts

Abstract

Key Words: Sustainable, MGNREGA, Asset Creation, Rural Households

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) main objectives are to provide livelihood security and in the process create durable and sustainable assets. While there have been several studies on MGNREGA, only few studies have concentrated on the impact of the assets created under the programme. Especially the individual assets. It is crucial to understand the impacts of assets as they could potentially decrease the dependency on the wage employment and also play a vital role in uplifting their socio-economic status in the rural places.

The aim of this thesis is to examine the selection and creation of Category B assets under the MGNREGA in the districts of Bagalkot and Tumakuru. The study tried to understand the impact created on the individual households mainly focusing on the development in their livelihood conditions and on their farmland, if any.

In the study, 27 people were interviewed and 55.5% of the asset created was for the purpose of irrigation, 18.5% of the asset was for the development of fallow and wasteland, and 18.5% was for the purpose of livestock. Horticulture and Sericulture made up of just 7.5%. The study found that the selection process for receiving the assets is not fair and transparent. And, once the asset is created, post-asset assistance becomes crucial otherwise due to lack of assistance, it can lead to neglect of assets. The creation of the assets resulted in an increase in crop acreage of 2.5 acres. Of all the respondents, 48% said that they saw an increase in their income after the asset was created.

At the macro level, the category B assets have been advantageous. Individual beneficiaries with assets and with the right amount of knowledge, skill, entrepreneurial capability and the proper selection of assets could result in transformational socio-economic change.