MGNREGA

Subject : Govt Schemes

Context: Tribal Families return to settlements in Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve , take up works under MGNREGA.

Concept:

MGNREGA

• MGNREGA is one of the largest work guarantee programmes in the world. It is one of the core of the core scheme under Government of India.
• Objective: The primary objective of the scheme is to guarantee 100 days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work.
• Legal Right to Work: Unlike earlier employment guarantee schemes, the act aims at addressing the causes of chronic poverty through a rights-based framework.
• At least one-third of beneficiaries have to be women.
• Wages must be paid according to the statutory minimum wages specified for agricultural labourers in the state under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.
• Demand-Driven Scheme: The most important part of MGNREGA’s design is its legally-backed guarantee for any rural adult to get work within 15 days of demanding it, failing which an ‘unemployment allowance’ must be given.
• This demand-driven scheme enables the self-selection of workers.
• Decentralised planning: There is an emphasis on strengthening the process of decentralisation by giving a significant role in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) in planning and implementing these works.
• The act mandates Gram sabhas to recommend the works that are to be undertaken and at least 50% of the works must be executed by them.

 Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve:

• Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve is a protected area and tiger reserve along the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu.It covers a forest area of 1,411.6 km2 and is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
• The wildlife sanctuary is part of Project Tiger and Project Elephant conservation programmes.These forests are home to indigenous tribal people belonging largely to the Irula tribe (also known as the Urali) and Soliga communities
• Flora: It is mostly tropical dry forest, part of the South Deccan Plateau dry deciduous forests ecoregion. There are five distinct forest types: tropical evergreen (Shola), semi-evergreen, mixed-deciduous, dry deciduous and thorn forests.
• Fauna: It links the Eastern Ghats and Western Ghats allowing gene flow between diverse fauna populations of the two eco-regions. Important fauna include- Bengal tigers, Indian elephants,  gaurs,  leopards ,spotted deer, blackbucks,  sambar deer,  barking deer ,four-horned antelopes, wild boars,  sloth bears , striped hyenas and feral buffaloes .
• Birds: Many bird species including treepies, bulbuls, babblers, mynahs , crows and critically endangered Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) are noted.