ABSTRACT
The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MGNREGA) was launched to address the problem of rural unemployment and poverty. The revised guidelines for MGNREGA target to strengthen its synergy with agriculture. But various studies have pointed out that in some states it is decreasing the agricultural productivity because during the peak agricultural season it causes shortage of labourers in the agricultural sector while in the lean agricultural season it fails to meet even the work demanded. At least 65 to 70 per cent of the employment generated under MGNREGA should be during the lean agricultural season to balance the workforce required in the agricultural sector. The objective of this paper is to critically examine the impact of MGNREGA works and its seasonality on the agriculture of the North-Eastern states of India. The study is based on secondary data collected from various sources. The study highlights whether the scheme is helping the poor peasant getting work without affecting the labour supply to agricultural sector. Also, it finds out to what extent the works permissible under revised operational guidelines of the scheme is helping the peasants in their agricultural activities.
