8216;NREGA useful for marginal farmers8217;

Though the CAG has pointed to poor performance of MGNREGA,a joint study by the UNDP and Sambodhi,a Delhi-based research organisation,has found the scheme has made a significant impact in generating income for small and marginal farmers especially in case of work on land of individual beneficiaries.

The study,Impact Assessment of Assets Created on Individual Land under MGNREGA,has pointed to gaps in the planning and the monitoring of assets. The MGNREGA was extended to works on lands of individual beneficiaries like small and marginal farmers in financial year 2011-12.

The study found that 85 per cent of beneficiaries have claimed an improvement in the quality of their land and a majority of the households noted a 10-15 per cent increase in income after creation of assets through MGNREGA.