MGNREGA employment in AP drops by 11.8%

Ongole: Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a significant decline in rural employment generation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act during April-September 2024, according to a report released by LibTech India.

The State recorded an 11.80 per cent drop in total persondays compared to the same period last year, though performing slightly better than the national average decline of 16 per cent.

LibTech India is a collective team of engineers, social workers and social scientists who have been working as a team in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other states for the last 10 years.

The team prepared an analysis report on the employment status in Andhra Pradesh using data from the government on MGNREGA. The report reveals patterns concerning social inclusion, with Scheduled Castes experiencing a 15.50 per cent decline in employment opportunities. However, Scheduled Tribes bucked the trend with a modest 1.70 per cent increase in person-days, suggesting some success in tribal outreach programmes.

The downturn was particularly severe in districts like Nellore, Kurnool and Tirupati, which saw employment reductions of 35.10 per cent, 30.90 per cent, and 22.40 per cent respectively. However, some districts showed improvement, with Parvathipuram Manyam leading the positive trend with a 17.6 per cent increase on persondays. Despite the overall downturn, Andhra Pradesh showed positive developments in worker registration. The State added 3.43 lakh new workers while removing 2.85 lakh from the rolls, resulting in a net addition of 59,000 workers. This contrasts national trends, where worker deletions exceeded new additions.

A May 2024 advisory from the Union Ministry of Rural Development appears to have contributed to the slowdown.

The Ministry raised concerns about non-compliance with requirements for agriculture-related spending, leading to a sharp decline in employment generation thereafter.