Livelihood vulnerability index approach to assess the impact of mgnregs on asset creation in the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu

The MGNREGA programme is an activity that attempts to elevate the rural economy through creation of sustainable assets. The Act seeks to create durable assets to augment land and water resource, improve rural connectivity and strengthen the livelihood resources base of the rural poor. Proper utilization of this scheme ensures short term benefits (Purchasing power improvement of weaker section of the society) and long term benefits (Mitigation of climate change) which are the crucial things to vulnerability reduction of rural poor everlastingly.

The main focus of the present study is to analyse impact of MGNREGS on Asset creation in Madurai district of Tamil Nadu by applying Livelihood vulnerability Index method.

The study was conducted in four blocks of Madurai district of Tamil Nadu in 2016–17. The sample respondents were from the two MGNREGS performance zones viz., High Work Blocks namely Madurai West, Melur block and Low Work Blocks (Sedapatti and Thiruparankundram).

From each block 150 samples were selected totaling 600 respondents were selected by using Multistage random sampling technique. The Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) approach was used to assess the impacts of MGNREG Scheme on Assets creation. This approach is based on the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) model used by Nguyen Duy Can et al., in 2013.

The study finds that among the High works blocks such as Melur and Madurai West, Melur block has lower Livelihood Vulnerability Index such as 0.196 than Madurai West block such as 0.233. It reveals that the impact of MGNREG Scheme in Asset creation isfairly good. Regarding low works blocks namely Sedapatti and Thiruparngundram, Sedapatti block has higher Livelihood Vulnerability Index than Thiruparan kundram block (0.52 vs 0.497), representing the impacts of MGNREG Scheme in asset creation is moderately good. It means that a high vulnerability score show in low work blocks of MGNREGS and low vulnerability score shows in high work blocks of MGNREGS. Itis alsorevealed thatLVI score within the low work blocks and high work blocks are not varying much. There is a meager variation. But the LVI index score between the LWB's and HWB's are varying significantly.

The study finds that the low work blocks of MGNREGS are suffered from huge livelihood vulnerability. It leads to furtherwidened imbalanced distribution and growth. Hence the government should make more efforts to complete maximum beneficiaries of 100 days employment in MGNREGS from low work blocks. To conclude that proper and optimum utilization of the MGNREG Scheme would ultimately facilitate to create the social, cultural, economical and environmental assets of rural area. And therby sustainable growth of rural economy.