MGNREGA Faces Threat, Signaling End of Rural Job Guarantee
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which was conceived as a mechanism to ensure the right to work as an extension of the right to life, is now facing serious challenges. Experts and activists warn that recent policy shifts, funding constraints, and administrative bottlenecks threaten to undermine the programme’s foundational purpose.
MGNREGA has historically provided rural households with employment security, income stability, and social protection, especially during lean agricultural seasons. However, delayed wage payments, reduced allocation of workdays, and bureaucratic hurdles are eroding the confidence of beneficiaries, leaving vulnerable populations at risk of economic distress.
Critics argue that weakening the scheme not only affects livelihoods but also threatens rural development, poverty alleviation, and women’s participation in the workforce. Observers emphasise that the government must recommit to the principles of MGNREGA, ensuring timely funding, transparent implementation, and accountability, to safeguard the rural job guarantee and protect the socio-economic rights of India’s rural population.
