Research Study on Factors Facilitating Participation of Women in ...

94 Factors Facilitating Participation of Women in Mahatma Gandhi NREGSParticipation in Decisions Relating to MGNREGSDecision-making is an important indicator of (higher order)participation. Participation in decision-making process is a means athousehold level as well as community level to achieve benefits since it canoffer scope to influence the scheme in terms of choice of works, timings,location, quality etc. So in measuring the quality of participation decisionmakingaspect is also taken into consideration. In the present study anattempt was made to analyse the role of respondents in decision makingpertaining to MGNREGS. The parameters considered are decision relatingto participation – who should participate in MGNREGS work, collection ofwages, participation in social audit and in gram sabha meant for selectionof work. It was reported that decisions are collective in nature in regard toMGNREGS work and collection of wages. Disturbing observation is that inSouth 24 Paraganas and Gaya, in almost 15 per cent of the cases womenwere excluded from decision making in collecting the MGNREGS wageswhich shows that there was no control of respondents on their own wagesin these cases. No decision was taken by the sample households forparticipation in social audit, except in Mahaboobnagar. In the case ofMahaboobnagar district of Andhra Pradesh, good number of respondents(25 per cent) decided themselves to participate in the social audit andanother 65 per cent respondents took decision along with husband/otherfamily members in the family to participate in the social audit; indeed awelcome sign. Participation in Gram Sabhas meant for selection of worksis also a neglected area, since more than half of the respondents exceptin Thrissur district, did not take any decision. It is heartening to see thatin Thrissur district 72 per cent of the respondents took decision bythemselves to participate in Gram Sabhas meant for selection of worksunder MGNREGS. It is to be noted that women workers outnumbered maleworkers in Kerala in this scheme. Details are shown in Table 5.26.RS 97