Rural Employment Guarantee: From MGNREGA to VB-G RAM G
The Idea of a Right to Work
Rural employment guarantees give households a legal claim to paid work, turning job creation into a right rather than a favour.
In rural India, farm work is seasonal, and many households have no income in the slack months. A rural employment guarantee promises paid manual work to those who ask for it.
Why guarantee work
Cash from public works acts as a safety net when crops fail or the season is slack.
Self-targeting
Because the pay is low and the work is hard, mostly those in real need will apply.
Earlier models
Maharashtra ran an Employment Guarantee Scheme from the 1970s, which inspired the national law.
A landless worker with no farm work in summer signs up for road work to earn wages.
It is short-term wage work.
- A guarantee gives a legal claim to work.
- Low wages help target the needy.
- Maharashtra's scheme was a model.
- It works as a safety net.
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