A Critical Appraisal of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) in Haryana

It has been well recognised by policymakers that sustainable development can be achieved only when the benefits of economic growth reach the poor and underprivileged sections of society. Despite over half a half-century of planned development, poverty and unemployment continue to plague the Indian economy, particularly in rural areas. One of the major problems facing India is the continued migration of people from rural to urban areas, which is essentially an indicator of the lack of development in the villages. Keeping this in mind, policymakers have taken many policy initiatives and launched many programs for the rural development of the country, focusing on inclusive development. Currently, Inclusive rural development has become a more specific and broader concept and is preferred by policymakers and researchers over the concept of rural development. More specifically, inclusive rural development consists of three highly interrelated dimensions. Economic dimension, Social dimension and Political dimension. One of the major initiatives of the government for the inclusive and sustainable growth of the nation is the launch of MNREGA in India in 2005. The present study attempts to analyse the performance of MNREGA in the state of Haryana from 2017-18 to 2022-23. An attempt has also been made to analyse the role of MNREGA in the state during the pandemic period.