Is MGNREGA Inclusive of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe and Women? A Case Study of Haryana, India

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a plausible policy instrument to provide casual employment to the rural population in India, especially women, Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups. This study aimed to analyse the recent trends in the financial and physical progress of the MGNREG scheme in Haryana, India. It also explored how much the benefits of the MGNREG scheme have reached SCs, STs and women. The study was based on secondary data from the MGNREGA official website for 2016-2017 to 2020-2021. The results indicated that the performance of the Haryana state was not satisfactory at all in achieving the objective of providing a minimum of 100 days of employment because only a small fraction of households could complete 100 days of work from 2016-2017 to 2020-2021. Further, the participation of SC/ST households in the MGNREG scheme reduced over the years. It also found a year-on-year increase in women person-days during the first four years between 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 and slightly declined to 48.80% in 2020-2021. However, it was more than the statutory limit of 33% stipulated by the MGNREGA each year.