Staff Reporter Dimapur, July 28
Nothing better has come as a boon for the villagers of Khriezephe village in Dimapur than their introduction to the Rural Development Ministry’s national flagship programme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Today, Khriezephe village proudly claimed having access to all the basic amenities thanks to the scheme. Some notable achievements of the village under MGNREGA include construction of fair-weather roads, irrigation dams with minor irrigation canals connected to all the fields, and proper drainage system within the village. More importantly, the youth and women have found gainful employment through a legal guarantee for at least 100 days of paid employment. The aforesaid achievements were made since inception of the village in 1991. Interacting with sections of media persons, the village Head GB (Gaonbura – a leader of a village) Lhoudilie Seyie has attributed the successes to the able leadership of the village’s local authority and the Rural Development department. The head gaonbura has particularly appreciated the leadership of the Village Council Chairman, Jonah Kemp, and secretary of the Village Development Board (VDB), James Vizo for successful implementation of the government in the village. He also appreciated the officials of Rural Development Department for their special concern shown toward the growth of the village. While also acknowledging the invaluable service rendered by past leaders of the village, the local leader has lauded the village’s community for the cooperation and support extended to the village authority thereby ‘enabling to script success story in the history of the village.’ The MGNREGA aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household who volunteer to engage in unskilled manual work. MNREGA (erstwhile NREGA) was launched on February 2, 2006, from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and initially covered 200 of the "poorest" districts of the country. It is a job guarantee scheme for rural Indians. It was enacted by legislation on 25 August 2005. This act was introduced with the aim of improving the purchasing power of semi- or un-skilled rural people of India, irrespective of whether or not they fell below the poverty line. Around one-third of the stipulated work force is women. The law was initially called theNational Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and was renamed with the prefix “Mahatma Gandhi” on 2 October 2009, Gandhi’s birth anniversary.[4] [5] In 2011, the program was widely criticized as no more effective than other poverty reduction programs in India. Despite its best intentions, MGNREGA is beset with controversy about corrupt officials, deficit financing as the source of funds, poor quality of infrastructure built under this program, and unintended destructive effect on poverty.