Impact assessment of MGNREGA on employment generation, labour supply in the agriculture sector and migration: A case study

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in 2005 was formulated to reinforce adherence towards livelihood security in rural areas by providing a legal guarantee of 100 day's work annually to every rural household whose adult members willing to do unskilled manual work. The study assessed the impact of MGNREGA on employment generation, labour supply in agriculture sector and migration. The study was conducted using multi-stage random sampling in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Based on a survey covering 100 households from 10 panchayats of 2 blocks, it was found that the scheme was the lifeline of poor villagers and significantly affected the employment level. However, labour supply in agriculture showed a negative trend which can vanquish if MGNREGA provides off-season employment to agricultural labour. Similarly, the migration level also dwindled showing a positive impact of the scheme. A new and innovative works need to be found to retain rural labour and furnish productive employment to check this trend.