Ensuring social inclusion through Mahatma Gandhi National rural employment guarantee act: An analytical case study of Lucknow

Despite 57 years of planned economic growth, India, as per the World Bank Report 2008, has 42% of her people living in poverty. This calls for some serious thought and action on the part of the government, planners and economists, social scientists and other professionals and academicians. The thought and action should address the very issue of poverty by reiterating social justice and inclusion by focusing on crucial areas of human development, that is, education, health, livelihood, employment, food security etc. along with participation and networking that can negate exclusion and ensure social and economic empowerment.

The paper will begin with a discussion on ‘social exclusion’ with an aim to identify the various areas of intervention that can permit social inclusion. It will examine the interventions in terms of policies, programmes and initiatives undertaken recently by the government and other institutions and organisations to assess whether they address the very nature of poverty and impact it directly or indirectly. While giving a brief overview of the various efforts undertaken so far, the paper seeks to present an in-depth analysis of the ‘Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act’ 2004 in this regard.

The conceptual and theoretical framework is being derived from available literature on social exclusion. A case study on the implementation of NREGS in two blocks, namely, ‘Chinhat’ and ‘Sarojininagar’ of Lucknow district, U.P. is undertaken. Empirical data collection is through random sampling that will include the beneficiaries and stakeholders. Statistical methods like mean, standard deviation, and correlation will be used for analysis.