FIELDWORK SEGMENT (FWS)

PRM 2013-15 & FPRM 2013

A Theme Paper/ Faculty Participant Collaborative Research (FPCR)
‘MGNREGA’s Contribution towards Sustainable Development’

Village :Bakhri

Gram Panchayat: Sonpur

DISTRICT: Muzaffarpur

STATE: Bihar

HOST ORGANISATION:ADITHI

Prepared by:

Abhishek Rajan (34056)

In partial fulfilment of the requirements of the FWS

of the

Post Graduate Programme in Rural Management

INSTITUTE OF RURAL MANAGEMENT ANAND

December, 2013

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This acknowledgment is not merely a catalogue of names but an expression of deep sense of gratitude to all those who helped us in completing this study. I would like to thank Adithi Organisation which provided us this opportunity to spend some quality time of our life in the village in Bihar. The key insights provided to us by Mr.P.K.Singh during our field-work helped us a lot while working on the field.
I would like to thank Adithi field coordinators Mr. Avinash Kumar, Mrs Rani and Mrs Madhvi, without whose guidance it would not have been possible for us to complete the study.
I would also like to thank the people of Bakhri for their cooperation and support, without which the study would not have been possible.

Abhishek Rajan (34056)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In this study I have tried to capture the impact of MNREGA and its contribution in providing sustainable livelihood and sustainable asset creation using the natural resource base of rural areas based on people’s perceptions. During my study i have tried to understand how MNREGA has touched the life of rural people and its impact at the local level on natural resources and providing resilience and adaptation to the climate changes in Bakhri village of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar.I conducted several FGDs’ among various stakeholders to understand the people’s opinion and used Fuzzy cognitive mapping approach to understand the interconnected relations among various factors. Data collection involved group discussions during which 20-25 groups drew cognitive maps later on data from these maps were aggregated using a composite index .Outcome of this study reveals that MNREGA has positively affected the lives of people of Bakhri on various social ,economic and ecological parameters, but in recent years due to rampant corruption and nepotism it has lost its credibility among the villagers.

Table Of Content

ACKNOWLEDGMENT i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ii 1.INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Objective 1 1.2 Village Profile 1 1.3 Methodology 1 2.MGNREGA 2 3.SITUATION ANALYSIS 2 4.FC MAP 4 5.VARIABLES EMPLOYED 4 6.ANALYSIS 5 6.1 Impact on economy :- 5 6.2 Impact on society : 6 6.3 Impact on Ecology :- 6 7.Limitations 7 8. Conclusion 7 9.ANNEXURE iii

1.INTRODUCTION

1.1 Objective
The objective of this theme paper is to capture MGNREGA’s contribution towards sustainable development with the help of fuzzy cognitive mapping.

1.2 Village Profile
This study was conducted in Bakhri village of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar.It is located from 42 kms. from Muzaffarpur district.It comes under Sonpur Panchayat.It has 710 households and population of 3115.Dominant castes present in the village are Bhumihar and Sahas whereas other castes present are Badhai,Lohar,Pasi,Paswan,Chamar,Noniya and Muslims.56% population of the village comes under BPL category out of that 17% belong to poorest of poor category covered under Antyodaya yojana.

1.3 Methodology
The important sources for data collection were :-
1.FGD - It was the primary source of information.Several FGDs’ were conducted among various stakeholders like villagers,MGNREGA Job Card Holders and PRI members.The group discussion comprised of 5-6 people.The cognitive maps drew from these discussions were used for data collection.
2.Panchayat Records – It was secondary source of information.Various important data like yojana sankhyas,Job card holders etc. were obtained from this source.
Sampling
Sampling method used for conducting this study is purposive stratified sampling.People who are directly affected ,related or have a basic understanding of this scheme were considered for sampling.Gender,age group and caste were the parameters on which sampling was done.

Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping
FCM is a powerful tool in environmental decision-making and management, tries capturing the functioning of a complex system based on people’s understanding. FCMs tries depicting interconnected relationships between variables. Each variable represents characteristics of the system and interconnections between these variables better depicts the dynamics and interactions within the system.FCM map consists of a set of nodes representing variables connected through links denoted by arrows. Variables were obtained from the cognitive maps drew from people. Relationships between these variables are labelled with positive or negative polarities and weights assigned. These polarities describe the arrangement of the system with the positive sign indicating a direct relationships and the negative sign an inverse one. The weights assigned to the connections vary from 0 to 1, defining the strength of the relationship between the variables. It explains complex interactions occurring in a dynamic system.Here, FCM has been used to understand the social,economical and ecological aspects of MNREGA from the perception of people.

2.MGNREGA
Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005, was notified on 7th September 2005.The mandate of the Act is to provide minimum 100 days of guaranteed wage employment to every rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. It has emerged as a powerful instrument of inclusive growth in rural India. The objectives of the program include : 1. Ensuring social protection to the most vulnerable poor families in rural India. 2. Ensuring livelihood security to the poor. 3. Strengthening drought proofing and flood management in rural India. 4. Empowering marginalised communities, especially women,SC and ST. 5. Deepening democracy at the grass roots by strengthening PRI.

MGNREGA contribution towards Sustainable development
“Sustainable development is the development that meets the needs of the present without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” MGNREGA has shifted its paradigm after its inception towards achieving sustainable development. MGNREGA is heading towards sustainable development with two broader objectives :- 1. Creation of sustainable assets that strengthens the rural livelihood resource base of rural areas. 2. Creation of sustainable livelihood opportunities through regeneration of natural resources of rural areas. 3.SITUATION ANALYSIS Some significant developmental work has been done in Bakhri through MGNREGA like check dam on Bagmati river,brick-soled roads and Litchi plantation in past. These works has done a positive impact on the lives of people. All these work has been done from the year 2008-11.There are 375 job card holders in the village. The detailed explanation of the assets created through MGNREGA is below :- 1. Check Dam - Bakhri was severly hit with floods for 3-4 months in a year till 2008,due to Bagmati river.Agriculture, transportation and livelihoods were severly hit during these period.It also lead to several health and other issues.In 2008,a check dam was constructed on the river through MGNREGA. It has really boosted the economy and quality of life of village along with other ecological factors like prevention from social erosion,land development and crop productivity. 2. Transport – Many brick soled roads have been constructed in the village, which has made the life of people quite easier. 3. Litchi Plantation- It is initiated by a women based SHG of village facilitated by Jeevika,under crop sharing scheme.They have bought 1 acre of barren land in village and used MGNREGA funds to do the land development and planting Litchi plants.
In past years no work has been given to the people through MGNREGA.According to findings,corruption in funds and nepotism in distribution of work has grown exponentially in last two years.Last year construction of a brick-soled road was done under MGNREGA but the whole process was neck deep in corruption.Low accountability and lack of transparency are the major constraints identified by the people which has led to the ineffective implementation of the scheme.

4.FC MAP

- Economic factors Total Nr. Factors -15 - Ecological factors Total Nr. Connections - 40 - Social factors Total Nr. Transmitters -1 Total Nr. Receivers - 4

5.VARIABLES EMPLOYED
The variables obtained from the cognitive maps are broadly classified into three aspects, social, economical and ecological. All the information collected have been formalised and standardised into several factors.
Economical Factors :- 1. Additional Income 2. Employment 3. Financial Inclusion 4. Shortage of labor 5. Infrastructure
Social Factors :- 1. Corruption 2. Nepotism 3. Hygiene 4. Quality of Life 5. Empowerment of women
Ecological Factors :- 1. Plantation 2. Soil erosion 3. Land development

6.ANALYSIS
6.1 Impact on economy :-
Economy has taken a big leap in the village due to MNREGA. FC Map clearly depicts the strong and direct relationship between employment, additional income, financial inclusion, infrastructure and quality of life. It also shows the relationship with other factors like hygiene and connectivity.
MNREGA has provided employment to the villagers as a result it has helped them in earning some additional income. This rise in income has increased their purchasing power and consumption. It ahs boosted the economy of village as various business has flourished in and around village .It has also curbed the migration rate of the population. Earlier people were dependent on agriculture for occupation either as farmers or labourers, once the agricultural season got over they were left with no jobs.
Construction of check dam on Bagmati river has really been a boon to the village. This work was done under MGNREGA. Earlier Bakhri, remained flooded for 3-4 months in an year due to flood, which took heavy toll on agriculture and village economy. The complete scenario of agriculture has changed in recent years ,large production of rice, wheat and pulses have revived the farmers economy. Construction of dam has tremendous impact on spheres of villagers life including health, transportation and business activities.
Financial inclusion has been widely introduced due to MGNREGA. The payment of wages took place through banks, as a result familiarising people with benefits of banking facilities. Majority of the people have now bank accounts and they can avail facilities like recurring, loan and many more.
Employment has provided income and which as a result have made them accessible to basic facilities like drinking water ,sanitation and education. People have installed private hand pumps and constructed toilets. This is a big achievement where open defecation is a very big problem. Litchi plantation initiative is really taking village towards sustainable livelihood. It will set a benchmark and if followed by other groups and SHGs, it will really make MGNREGA as an agent of sustainable livelihood.
Agriculture has suffered marginally due to MGNREGA, as wages have gone up in recent years at the time of sowing and harvesting. As most of the labors got engaged in MGNREGA, creating shortage of labour which as a result increased the wage rate. It has a partial impact on the price of crop.
Overall positive impact on economy has improved the quality of life in the village which was marred with flood 3-4 years back.

6.2 Impact on society :
MGNREGA has various positive and negative social impacts. Taking at first the positive ones, it has strengthened the position of women in the society. Women got work through MGNREGA which increased their economic power apparently increasing their stature in society. ’Litchi Plantation’ is an epitome of women strength and their footsteps towards sustainability.
Other key positive social factors are hygiene and quality of life. Hygiene standards has improved in the village. Hand pumps and toilets have been installed which has provided clean drinking water and curbed open defecation. People have started to avail basic necessities of life. It has also improved health scenario of village, earlier village was prone to diseases like malaria, diarrhoea, jaundice etc. which were after effects of flood. No flood in recent years has provided immunity to people from all these diseases. All these factors have contributed in the improvement of quality of life.
Negative impacts which are hampering the society are corruption and nepotism. Irregularities in distribution of job cards and partial payment are the corrupt practices which are being carried out. In recent years, MGNREGA has lost its shine due to corruption. Jobs are being deployed to the families who belong to a particular caste and to few selected families which is a clear case of nepotism. Lack of accountability and transparency has taken a hit on the programme operations in village, its repercussions can be felt as no work has been done in past year. Lot of resentment can be felt from the views of villagers about all the malignancy prevailing in the MGNREGA. Introduction of contractors and machineries to finish the work is practised which is a strict no according to procedures as all the work has to be done by unskilled manual labor.
6.3 Impact on Ecology :-
Construction of check dam has positively impacted the environment by reducing soil erosion and increasing the land productivity. Both of these has improved the agriculture scenario in village. Plantation activities has improved the ground water resources, both the ponds in the village are abundant with water throughout the year. Due to flood, several minerals use to accumulate in the soil which affected the fertility of soil,this has stopped in recent years. Due to soil erosion upper layer of fertile alluvium soil use to wash away, it has reduced in recent years.
Litchi plantation activity has developed 1 acre of barren land and reclaimed it for agriculture. It has many other positives like livelihood opportunity, reduced soil erosion, increase in groundwater level and increase in green cover.

7.Limitations
Limitations in conducting this study are as follow :- 1. Non availability of factual data with officials. 2. Reluctance in sharing data and actual facts by the villagers due to local politics and fear from influential people who were stakeholders of MGNREGA. 3. Selection of people for group discussions as many were illiterate and couldn’t express themselves. 4. Misconception of people like understanding us as government officials. 5. Personal views and a particular caste based facts couldn’t be captured in FGDs’. 6. Various malpractices in recent years have created a negative psyche about MGNREGA due to which people were not willing to share their views or sometimes get more biased with its negatives than positives.

8. Conclusion

The study was conducted to understand the people’s perception on MGNREGA and its contribution towards Sustainable Development and to capture their dynamics using Fuzzy cognitive mapping. These FC maps depicted the impact of MGNREGA on the rural community and their perception on its pros and cons. This tool gives a scientific and systemic edge to the people’s understanding and beliefs. It led us to understand the interconnected relationship among several factors, thus enhancing our knowledge and giving us insights which are complex to understand. This study cannot give a definitive conclusion on MGNREGA’s contribution on Sustainable Development but can definitely say if implemented efficiently, it has the potential to drastically change rural life. Still miles have to be covered to to flourish its scope in new dimensions like creation of sustainable assets, green jobs, climate changes and regeneration of natural resource base of India.

9.ANNEXURE

Cognitive Map 1: