CASHING IN ON NATURE

more works in the four months of 2020 than in 2019.

Creation of productive assets, whether for individual or for community benefits, has been the hallmark of MGNREGA. Starting with just 29 types of works allowed under the programme at its inception, it now includes some 260 types of works. From the hills to the plains, deserts to floodprone areas, and from the uplands to coastal areas, rural residents are paid for development works like deepening of ponds, creating shelter for livestock, or clearing a silted spring in the hills. All this on one condition: people have to demand jobs under the programme. Addition of new types of work over a period has been made to upgrade the list, so that it reflects people’s needs critical to their livelihood like farming, fishery and livestock rearing. But over the years, the works related to natural resource management had taken a backseat.

Take the example of water-related structures, which are common village assets. Between 2006-07 and 2019-20, more than 10 million such structures have been built under MGNREGA at an expense of not less than 201,000 crore. But the fact is the number of water-related projects under MGNREGA and associated expenditure had declined over last five years. Between 2014-15 and 2019-20, it has been seen that on an average 35.14 per cent of the money is spent on water related works in comparison to the expenditure on the total works under MGNREGA. This is when the Act mandates that at least 75 per cent of the total works must be related to water conservation.

But this year, in the four months between April and July, people have completed 60 per cent of the water conservations works undertaken during the whole of 2019-20. There is no doubt that a huge

MGNREGA is an asset transferring programme. This aspect makes it attractive to communities