Lok Sabha Question No. 476 (STARRED), answered on 2022-04-05
Subject: Female Workforce under MGNREGS
Ministry: RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Sajda Ahmed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 476

ANSWERED ON 05/04/2022

## FEMALE WORKFORCE UNDER MGNREGS

## *476.   SHRIMATI SAJDA AHMED:

Will the Minister of RURAL DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the steps taken by the Government to encompass the maximum female workforce in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS);
- (b) the policy adopted by the Government to skill the female workforce in MGNREGS;
- (c) the details of the female workforce who got job under MGNREGS during the last two years; and
- (d) whether the Government is sensitizing labour right and right at work place and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT (SHRI GIRIRAJ SINGH)

(a) to (d):       A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## Statement in reply to Parts (a) to (d) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 476 for 05.04.2022

(a)&(b):   Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (Mahatma Gandhi NREGS) is a demand driven wage employment programme which provides for the enhancement of livelihood security of the households in rural areas of the country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.

As per the Para 15 of Schedule-II of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 'Priority shall be given to women in such a way that at  least one-third of the beneficiaries  shall  be  women  who have  registered  and  requested  for  work.  Efforts  to  increase participation of single women and the disabled shall be made'.

To encourage women to participate in the works under the Scheme, features like seprate schedule of rates for women, no discriination in the wage, women caretaker for for looking after children upto five  years of  age,  if  there  are   5  or  more  children  of  such age,  encoragement  to women SHG members as mate, worksite facilities exist under the Scheme.

Project  'UNNATI', launched in December 2019 by Government of India, is a skilling project  that  intends  to  upgrade  the  skill  base  of  the  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGS  workers,  and thereby improve their livelihoods, so that they can move from the current partial employment to full employment.  This includes women member of the selected households.

(c):      The rate  of  participation  of  women  and  the  computed  women  persondays  in  Mahatma Gandhi NREGS during the last two financial years is given below:

| Financial Year                       |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |
|--------------------------------------|-----------|-----------|
| Women participation rate (%)         |     54.78 |     53.19 |
| computed women persondays (in crore) |    145.36 |    206.96 |

(As per MIS)

(d):    As per the para 19 of Schedule I of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, are as under:

(i)  The  schedule of rates of wages for various unskilled labourers shall be fixed up so that an adult  person  worked  for  eight  hours  which  include  an  hour  of  rest  will  earn  a  wage  which  is equal to the stipulated wage rate.

(ii) The working hours of an adult worker shall be flexible but shall not spread over more than twelve house on any day.

The  following  welfare  measures  to  workers  under  Mahatma  Gandhi  NREGA  at  worksite, as elaborated in Schedule II of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, 2005

(i)  If any personal injury is caused to any person employed under the Scheme by any accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, he shall be entitled to such medical treatment as required, free of cost.

(ii) Where hospitalisation of the injured worker is necessary, the State Government shall arrange for  such  hospitalisation  including  accommodation,  treatment,  medicines  and  payment  of  daily allowance which is not less than half of the wage rate.

(iii) If a person employed under the Scheme meets with death or becomes permanently disabled by accident arising out of and in the course of employment, he or his legal heirs, as the case may be, shall be paid by the implementing agency an ex gratia as per entitlements under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana or as may be notified by the Central Government.

(iv)  If  any  personal  injury  is  caused  by  accident  to  a  child  accompanying  a  person  who  is employed under the Scheme, such person shall be entitled to medical treatment free of cost; and in case of death or disablement of the child due to the said accident, ex gratia shall be paid to the legal guardians as determined by the State Government.

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