Exploring the Potential of Mgnrega for the revitalization of Rainfed Agriculture in India

Though MGNREGA happens to be an employment generation program at its core; initially encompassing activities under different heads to provide employment to the village communities; it has casted its potential towards rejuvenating rainfed agriculture along with short and long term environmental benefits. Within this context the present study sheds light on the intensity and distribution of works under different heads pertaining to revitalization of rainfed production systems i.e. water conservation and water harvesting, renovation of traditional water bodies and drought proofing for the year 2012-13. The study shows that with majority of the rainfed areas confined to five major states and primarily falling under semi-arid conditions, activities under MGNREGA with emphasis on watershed development and soil moisture conservation have appeared to be a potent tool to deal with the prolonged crisis of water scarcity in rainfed agriculture.