Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) is instrumental in not only providing employment to the rural poor and creating valuable assets, it is also leading to considerable ecological gains, claims a study conducted in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
It also informs that development of water resources and irrigation facilities have led to considerable changes in crop rotation and cropping pattern in the villages studied in the district.
The draft report of the study that was jointly conducted by Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore, German International Cooperation (GIZ) and Gramin Vikas Trust (GVT) on an initiative of the Central Government was released during a workshop organised in the State Capital on Thursday. Apart from Dhar, the study was simultaneously conducted in one district each from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Sikkim.
Illona Porche of GIZ, who is also the Project Head of the study team, said that the study has shown that the works executed under MNREGA have contributed in conservation of water resources in the rural areas leading to an increase in the water level. Besides, MNREGA is also helpful is controlling soil erosion and increasing the fertility of soil, she added.Briefing about the results of the study, Professor Ravindra Nath of IIS said that the works executed under MNREGA has improved the irrigation facility in villages.
“Out of 40 villages that were selected for the study, crop pattern has changed in 32 villages where the villagers are now able to sow two crops year instead of one,” he said.
“In more than 80 per cent of the villages work related to soil conservation has also been executed. It has also led to creation of means of sustainable livelihood in the villages thus putting a stop on migration from the villages. Besides, the wages of the labourers have also increased by 34 to 73 per cent,” he said. Earlier, informing about the methodology of the study, Professor Bhaskar Sinha of IIFM said that the results of the study are based on perception of the beneficiaries, including farmers and landless agricultural labourers.
MNREGA Commissioner Ravindra Pastaur said that innovative practices are being incorporated in the scheme to control the lacunas in the present system and at the same time to make it more effective in addressing the problem of rural poverty.