Imperfections in Implementation of MGNREGA-A Study of Punjab

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), enacted in 2005 to provide safety to rural poor is a milestone in meeting the millennium development goals. Though the scheme had supported livelihood to the poor households in the most backward districts of the state and had been successful in preventing migration to some extent, yet was unable to show a satisfactory performance in terms of simplification of procedures, employment generation, distribution of wages and in providing congenial work conditions to the job card holders. The present study, conducted by taking primary data from 120 job card holders randomly selected from six villages of the state spreading among three agro climatic zones, is an attempt in this context.