MGNREGA_SAMEEKSHA

Labour Market and Migration 53
work under the Scheme) entering child labour by 13
percentage points and of a girl entering child labour
by 8 percentage points 48 (also see Box 5.1).
MGNREGA also provides supplementary income
for family members who choose or are unable
to migrate. In Palakkad (Kerala), the results of a
study showed that the labour market got vertically
segmented: women, old people and the infirm sought
employment with MGNREGA and the able-bodied
men demanding higher wages chose farm jobs. 49
Likewise in Rajsamand and Dungarpur (Rajasthan)
where migration to urban centers offers relatively
higher incomes for men, much of the MGNREGA
workers were found to be women and older men who
had discontinued migration. 50
Some reports indicate that in certain places the
reduction in distress migration has been reversed
due to improper implementation of MGNREGA
processes. In Mandla (Madhya Pradesh), MGNREGA
implementation initially reduced migration but the
delay in payment of wages led the people back to
their migrant ways. Delay in payment of MGNREGA
wages was also found to be a key reason for the lack
of enthusiasm among the tribal farmers in Narmada
district (Gujarat). This was in spite of significant
differences between the prevailing market wage rates
(Rs 35/day plus meal; cash payment) and MGNREGA
wage rates (Rs 100/day). 51
48
V. Uppal, ‘Is NREGS a Safety Net for Children?’, Young Lives Student Paper, Young Lives, Department of International
Development, Oxford: University of Oxford, 2009.
49
T. Shah, S. Verma, R. Indu and P. Hemant, ‘Asset Creation through Employment Guarantee?: Synthesis of Student Case
Studies in 9 states of India’, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), 2010.
50
S. Verma, MG-NREGA Assets and Rural Water Security: Synthesis of Field Studies in Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala and Rajasthan,
Anand: International Water Management Institute, 2011.
51
Verma, ‘Labour Market Dynamics in Post-MGNREGS Rural India’.