Sustainable Employment Generation for Livelihood through MGNREGA Programme in Chikaballapur District of Karnataka

The MGNREGA aims at enhancing the livelihood security of the people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage employment in a financial year to a rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The objective of the Act also includes creation of durable assets and strengthening the livelihood natural resource base of the rural poor. Providing employment to the rural poor enhances their livelihood security by increasing their earnings as well as the expenditure and thereby improves their standard of living. It also inculcates the habit of thrift in them. This helps the BPL families to cross the poverty line. Keeping the ambitious motive of the worlds largest poverty alleviation programme in mind, a modest attempt is made in this study to assess the impact of MGNREGS on livelihood security of its participants and to what extent the scheme has been successful in achieving its objectives, in Chickaballapur district of Karnataka.