The death of three women in Kandhamal after eating mango kernel gruel has raised several questions about the efficacy of the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) across Odisha.
Locals from Kandhamal had said that they were forced to eat mango kernels out of acute poverty as they did not get any work under MGNREGA. However, following the outcry, Odisha government has started the MGNREGA work at Mandipanka village.
LibTech India, an organisation working to enhance the transparency and accountability in public service delivery, has released a detailed report on the implementation of the MGNREGA in Odisha from April to September 2024.
In its findings, the organisation said the state saw a 48.4% drop in person-days data generated compared to the same period in 2023, despite a high demand for employment. This decline indicates operational inefficiencies and the exclusion of eligible workers.
Employment generation has plummeted across all districts, with Jagathsinghapur (82%) and Ganjam (79%) experiencing the steepest declines, the report said.
A functionary of the organisation said: “The report is based on the data uploaded by the government on its site.”
The report said Odisha witnessed a net deletion of 8.76 lakh workers in just six months, reflecting a growing concern with the Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) compliance. Many genuine workers have been excluded due to administrative errors.
Approximately 6.7% of all workers and 3.3% of active workers in Odisha are ineligible for ABPS, hindering timely wage payments. Districts such as Nayagarh (10.7%) and Bolangir (6.2%) exhibit higher rates of ineligibility.
It has recommended that authorities should address wrongful deletions to ensure fair access to MNREGA benefits.
Prafulla Samantara, the winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize for 2017, told The Telegraph: “The mango kernel deaths are due to the state’s failure to provide jobs to people under the MGNREGA. We had visited the Mandipanka village where the deaths occurred. Almost all the people from the village migrated.”
He added: “The state machinery almost remained defunct as it was busy with election work in April and later a new government took over. It is high time now, the state administration should look for proper implementation of MGNREGA.”
