Migration and livelihoods situation in semi-arid district: A case of Mahbubnagar district in Telangana

Rural-urban migration, particularly from marginal areas, is on the rise. However, the combination of determinants, patterns and impacts of migration vary not only between source locations but also between households within a location. The government's role has been that of a mute spectator and any policies and programmes for supporting, empowering and strengthening the migrants and their status in the new areas has so far been conspicuous by their absence. Thus, a need was felt to understand migration in communities in more detail and to develop comprehensive policy responses to it. For the purpose of this study, the focus has been on migrations undertaken by the active persons only, although it is recognised that it is necessary to understand the migrations at the household level to get a truer picture. The key findings of the study relate to the link between social network and accumulation. In the study villages, it was observed that, generally, those who migrated through social networks rather than the contractual system and for longer periods were able to accumulate. The stream of migration has largely changed from rural-to-rural to rural-to-urban. The low level of rural-to-rural migration in all the study villages can be attributed to the continuous drought for the last three years, affecting agricultural employment in both the districts.