Perception of beneficiaries for efficacy of MGNREGA: a micro level analysis from Kalahandi district of Odisha, India

Abstract

The present study tries to examine the impact of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) on socio-economic status of MGNREGA beneficiaries in Kalahandi district of Odisha, India by using both primary and secondary data.Secondary data are collected from official website of MGNREGA during the period from 2012-2013 to 2018-2019. Primary data collected through semistructured questionnaire from two blocks of the district, namely Golamunda and Narla with the total simple size of 300 households. In selecting the sample households, a proportionate sampling along with simple random sampling technique has been used. For analysis of the study, a five-point Likert scale has been used to measure the perception of sample respondents on the improvement of socio-economic conditions after implementation of MGNREGA. Besides, composite index has been used to capture the combined perceptions of all the sample respondents. The study found that less than 10 % of the target household got employment of 100 days during the study period. Besides, the result of composite index (0,16) regarding the perception of MGNREGA beneficiaries on different socio-economic parameters gives an impressive that MGNREGA is less effective in the improvement of socio-economic status of the beneficiaries. Thus, it can be concluded that the MGNREGA has not been effective in improving the socio-economic status of MGNREGA beneficiaries in Kalahandi district of Odisha.