MGNREGS
Women shed ‘forest encroachers’ tag, turn land owners
Dubbed as encroachers in the forest land they tilled, the women of a village in Odisha claim their land rights and get their name recorded on the property document.
Rural job guarantee program sequesters tons of carbon
MGNREGS, the anti-poverty scheme has ensured food security to millions, especially during the pandemic. The natural asset created through the scheme helps in carbon capture
Educated Dalits and Adivasis turn laborers during lockdown
With hard-earned and loan-funded professional and arts degrees, rural youth who lost their jobs during lockdown have taken up MGNREGS work in Bidar
Lack of livelihood pushes returned migrants back to cities
Lakhs of rural Rajasthan migrants returned easily during lockdown since they worked in neighboring Gujarat. However, with no local employment avenues, the urban exodus would start again
Returned migrants prefer local livelihoods in native region
Villagers who migrated to other states for want of local livelihoods are back and do not wish to migrate again. They seek creation of local earning avenues
MGNREGS curbs distress migration, provides employment during lockdown
With agriculture turning unsustainable, villagers migrated to nearby towns for work. Community planning leading to sanctioned MGNREGS works has ensured local livelihood and has stemmed migration
Odisha government needs to intervene to mitigate migrant distress
For Odisha that is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, government needs to develop multiple strategies to ensure economic resilience of migrant households against unforeseen shocks