Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 73,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'catslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 73,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'catslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
$message = 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
$stackFrame = (int) 1
$trace = [
	(int) 0 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ServerRequest.php',
		'line' => (int) 2421,
		'function' => 'deprecationWarning',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead.'
		]
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
		'line' => (int) 74,
		'function' => 'offsetGet',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
		]
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Controller/Controller.php',
		'line' => (int) 610,
		'function' => 'printArticle',
		'class' => 'App\Controller\ArtileDetailController',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 120,
		'function' => 'invokeAction',
		'class' => 'Cake\Controller\Controller',
		'object' => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php',
		'line' => (int) 94,
		'function' => '_invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(App\Controller\ArtileDetailController) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/BaseApplication.php',
		'line' => (int) 235,
		'function' => 'dispatch',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\BaseApplication',
		'object' => object(App\Application) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 162,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 88,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php',
		'line' => (int) 96,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 65,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware',
		'object' => object(Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Runner.php',
		'line' => (int) 51,
		'function' => '__invoke',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Http/Server.php',
		'line' => (int) 98,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Runner',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Runner) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => [
			(int) 0 => object(Cake\Http\MiddlewareQueue) {},
			(int) 1 => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {},
			(int) 2 => object(Cake\Http\Response) {}
		]
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/webroot/index.php',
		'line' => (int) 39,
		'function' => 'run',
		'class' => 'Cake\Http\Server',
		'object' => object(Cake\Http\Server) {},
		'type' => '->',
		'args' => []
	]
]
$frame = [
	'file' => '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php',
	'line' => (int) 74,
	'function' => 'offsetGet',
	'class' => 'Cake\Http\ServerRequest',
	'object' => object(Cake\Http\ServerRequest) {
		trustProxy => false
		[protected] params => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] data => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] query => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] cookies => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _environment => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] url => 'latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232/print'
		[protected] base => ''
		[protected] webroot => '/'
		[protected] here => '/latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232/print'
		[protected] trustedProxies => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] _input => null
		[protected] _detectors => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] _detectorCache => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] stream => object(Zend\Diactoros\PhpInputStream) {}
		[protected] uri => object(Zend\Diactoros\Uri) {}
		[protected] session => object(Cake\Http\Session) {}
		[protected] attributes => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] emulatedAttributes => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
		[protected] uploadedFiles => [[maximum depth reached]]
		[protected] protocol => null
		[protected] requestTarget => null
		[private] deprecatedProperties => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	},
	'type' => '->',
	'args' => [
		(int) 0 => 'artileslug'
	]
]
deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 29177
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">-Livemint.com<br /><br /><em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br /><br />New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br /><br />Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br /><br />According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br /><br />In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br /><br />Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br /><br />MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br /><br />The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br /><br />&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br /><br />Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br /><br />In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br /><br />&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br /><br />&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br /><br />&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Experts dismissed the argument.<br /><br />&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br /><em><br />Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br /></div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$maxBufferLength = (int) 8192
$file = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php'
$line = (int) 853
$message = 'Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853'
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Code Context
            $response->getStatusCode(),

            ($reasonPhrase ? ' ' . $reasonPhrase : '')

        ));
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 29177
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">-Livemint.com<br /><br /><em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br /><br />New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br /><br />Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br /><br />According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br /><br />In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br /><br />Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br /><br />MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br /><br />The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br /><br />&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br /><br />Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br /><br />In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br /><br />&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br /><br />&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br /><br />&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Experts dismissed the argument.<br /><br />&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br /><em><br />Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br /></div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$reasonPhrase = 'OK'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitStatusLine() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 54
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
Code Context
                    $value

                ), $first);

                $first = false;
$response = object(Cake\Http\Response) {

	'status' => (int) 200,
	'contentType' => 'text/html',
	'headers' => [
		'Content-Type' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		]
	],
	'file' => null,
	'fileRange' => [],
	'cookies' => object(Cake\Http\Cookie\CookieCollection) {},
	'cacheDirectives' => [],
	'body' => '<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
        "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
</span></span></code>
<span class="code-highlight"><code><span style="color: #000000">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;link&nbsp;rel="canonical"&nbsp;href="<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">Configure</span><span style="color: #007700">::</span><span style="color: #0000BB">read</span><span style="color: #007700">(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">'SITE_URL'</span><span style="color: #007700">);&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$urlPrefix</span><span style="color: #007700">;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">category</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">slug</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>/<span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">$article_current</span><span style="color: #007700">-&gt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">seo_url</span><span style="color: #007700">;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;</span>.html"/&gt;
</span></code></span>
<code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">meta&nbsp;http</span><span style="color: #007700">-</span><span style="color: #0000BB">equiv</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"Content-Type"&nbsp;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">content</span><span style="color: #007700">=</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"text/html;&nbsp;charset=utf-8"</span><span style="color: #007700">/&gt;
</span></span></code></pre><pre id="cakeErr67f810186e8c8-context" class="cake-context" style="display: none;">$viewFile = &#039;/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp&#039;
$dataForView = [
	&#039;article_current&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
		&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
		&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
		&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
		&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
		&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
		&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
		&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
		&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
		&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
		&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
		&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
		&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [[maximum depth reached]],
		&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;
	
	},
	&#039;articleid&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;metaKeywords&#039; =&gt; &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;,
	&#039;metaDesc&#039; =&gt; &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 29177,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html&#039;,
	&#039;article_img&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;article_img_thumb&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;status&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;show_on_home&#039; =&gt; (int) 1,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;EN&#039;,
	&#039;category_id&#039; =&gt; (int) 16,
	&#039;tag_keyword&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;seo_url&#039; =&gt; &#039;dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232&#039;,
	&#039;meta_title&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_keywords&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;meta_description&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;noindex&#039; =&gt; (int) 0,
	&#039;publish_date&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	&#039;most_visit_section_id&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;article_big_img&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;liveid&#039; =&gt; (int) 4677232,
	&#039;created&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;modified&#039; =&gt; object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	&#039;edate&#039; =&gt; &#039;&#039;,
	&#039;tags&#039; =&gt; [
		(int) 0 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 =&gt; object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	&#039;category&#039; =&gt; object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	&#039;[new]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[accessible]&#039; =&gt; [
		&#039;*&#039; =&gt; true,
		&#039;id&#039; =&gt; false
	],
	&#039;[dirty]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[original]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[virtual]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[hasErrors]&#039; =&gt; false,
	&#039;[errors]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[invalid]&#039; =&gt; [],
	&#039;[repository]&#039; =&gt; &#039;Articles&#039;

}
$articleid = (int) 29177
$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;-Livemint.com&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;New Delhi: &lt;/em&gt;Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&amp;mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&amp;rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&amp;mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&amp;mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&amp;mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Marathwada is made up of eight districts&amp;mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&amp;rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&amp;rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &amp;ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &amp;ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&amp;rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&amp;rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&amp;rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &amp;ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&amp;rdquo; Deshmukh said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&amp;rdquo; he added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Experts dismissed the argument.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;MGNREGS&amp;emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&amp;rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &amp;ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
$lang = &#039;English&#039;
$SITE_URL = &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;
$site_title = &#039;im4change&#039;
$adminprix = &#039;admin&#039;</pre><pre class="stack-trace">include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51</pre></div></pre>latest-news-updates/dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232.html"/>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>
    <link href="https://im4change.in/css/control.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"
          media="all"/>
    <title>LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche | Im4change.org</title>
    <meta name="description" content="
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of..."/>
    <script src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-1.10.2.js"></script>
    <script type="text/javascript" src="https://im4change.in/js/jquery-migrate.min.js"></script>
    <script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">

        $(document).ready(function () {
            var img = $("img")[0]; // Get my img elem
            var pic_real_width, pic_real_height;
            $("<img/>") // Make in memory copy of image to avoid css issues
                .attr("src", $(img).attr("src"))
                .load(function () {
                    pic_real_width = this.width;   // Note: $(this).width() will not
                    pic_real_height = this.height; // work for in memory images.
                });
        });
    </script>
    <style type="text/css">
        @media screen {
            div.divFooter {
                display: block;
            }
        }

        @media print {
            .printbutton {
                display: none !important;
            }
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0" width="98%" align="center">
    <tr>
        <td class="top_bg">
            <div class="divFooter">
                <img src="https://im4change.in/images/logo1.jpg" height="59" border="0"
                     alt="Resource centre on India's rural distress" style="padding-top:14px;"/>
            </div>

        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td id="topspace">&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr id="topspace">
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-bottom:1px solid #000; padding-top:10px;" class="printbutton">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td width="100%">
            <h1 class="news_headlines" style="font-style:normal">
                <strong>Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche</strong></h1>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td width="100%" style="font-family:Arial, 'Segoe Script', 'Segoe UI', sans-serif, serif"><font size="3">
                <div align="justify">-Livemint.com<br /><br /><em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br /><br />New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br /><br />Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br /><br />According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br /><br />In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br /><br />Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br /><br />MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br /><br />The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br /><br />&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br /><br />Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br /><br />In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br /><br />&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br /><br />&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br /><br />&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Experts dismissed the argument.<br /><br />&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br /><em><br />Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br /></div>               </font>
        </td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td>&nbsp;</td>
    </tr>

    <tr>
        <td height="50" style="border-top:1px solid #000; border-bottom:1px solid #000;padding-top:10px;">
            <form><input type="button" value=" Print this page "
                         onclick="window.print();return false;"/></form>
        </td>
    </tr>
</table></body>
</html>'

}
$cookies = []
$values = [
	(int) 0 => 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
]
$name = 'Content-Type'
$first = true
$value = 'text/html; charset=UTF-8'
header - [internal], line ??
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emitHeaders() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181
Cake\Http\ResponseEmitter::emit() - CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 55
Cake\Http\Server::emit() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 141
[main] - ROOT/webroot/index.php, line 39

<head>

    <link rel="canonical" href="<?php echo Configure::read('SITE_URL'); ?><?php echo $urlPrefix;?><?php echo $article_current->category->slug; ?>/<?php echo $article_current->seo_url; ?>.html"/>

    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"/>

$viewFile = '/home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp'
$dataForView = [
	'article_current' => object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

		'id' => (int) 29177,
		'title' => 'Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche',
		'subheading' => '',
		'description' => '<div align="justify">
-Livemint.com<br />
<br />
<em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br />
<br />
New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br />
<br />
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br />
<br />
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br />
<br />
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br />
<br />
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br />
<br />
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br />
<br />
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br />
<br />
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br />
<br />
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br />
<br />
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br />
<br />
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br />
<br />
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br />
<br />
Experts dismissed the argument.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br />
<em><br />
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br />
</div>',
		'credit_writer' => 'Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html',
		'article_img' => '',
		'article_img_thumb' => '',
		'status' => (int) 1,
		'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
		'lang' => 'EN',
		'category_id' => (int) 16,
		'tag_keyword' => '',
		'seo_url' => 'dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232',
		'meta_title' => null,
		'meta_keywords' => null,
		'meta_description' => null,
		'noindex' => (int) 0,
		'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
		'most_visit_section_id' => null,
		'article_big_img' => null,
		'liveid' => (int) 4677232,
		'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'edate' => '',
		'tags' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
		'[new]' => false,
		'[accessible]' => [
			[maximum depth reached]
		],
		'[dirty]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[original]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[virtual]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[hasErrors]' => false,
		'[errors]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[invalid]' => [[maximum depth reached]],
		'[repository]' => 'Articles'
	
	},
	'articleid' => (int) 29177,
	'metaTitle' => 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche',
	'metaKeywords' => 'MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon',
	'metaDesc' => '
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...',
	'disp' => '<div align="justify">-Livemint.com<br /><br /><em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br /><br />New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br /><br />Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br /><br />According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br /><br />In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br /><br />Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br /><br />MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br /><br />The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br /><br />&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br /><br />Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br /><br />In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br /><br />&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br /><br />&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br /><br />&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Experts dismissed the argument.<br /><br />&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br /><em><br />Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br /></div>',
	'lang' => 'English',
	'SITE_URL' => 'https://im4change.in/',
	'site_title' => 'im4change',
	'adminprix' => 'admin'
]
$article_current = object(App\Model\Entity\Article) {

	'id' => (int) 29177,
	'title' => 'Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche',
	'subheading' => '',
	'description' => '<div align="justify">
-Livemint.com<br />
<br />
<em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br />
<br />
New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br />
<br />
Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br />
<br />
According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br />
<br />
In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br />
<br />
Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br />
<br />
MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br />
<br />
The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br />
<br />
Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br />
<br />
Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br />
<br />
In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br />
<br />
But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br />
<br />
In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br />
<br />
Experts dismissed the argument.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br />
<em><br />
Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br />
</div>',
	'credit_writer' => 'Livemint.com, 14 September, 2015, http://www.livemint.com/Politics/HeesNtkLpHThe0WLFHzbOO/Dry-spell-for-MGNREGS-jobs-in-rainstarved-Marathwada.html',
	'article_img' => '',
	'article_img_thumb' => '',
	'status' => (int) 1,
	'show_on_home' => (int) 1,
	'lang' => 'EN',
	'category_id' => (int) 16,
	'tag_keyword' => '',
	'seo_url' => 'dry-spell-for-mgnregs-jobs-in-rain-starved-marathwada-elizabeth-roche-4677232',
	'meta_title' => null,
	'meta_keywords' => null,
	'meta_description' => null,
	'noindex' => (int) 0,
	'publish_date' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenDate) {},
	'most_visit_section_id' => null,
	'article_big_img' => null,
	'liveid' => (int) 4677232,
	'created' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'modified' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
	'edate' => '',
	'tags' => [
		(int) 0 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 1 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 2 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 3 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 4 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 5 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {},
		(int) 6 => object(Cake\ORM\Entity) {}
	],
	'category' => object(App\Model\Entity\Category) {},
	'[new]' => false,
	'[accessible]' => [
		'*' => true,
		'id' => false
	],
	'[dirty]' => [],
	'[original]' => [],
	'[virtual]' => [],
	'[hasErrors]' => false,
	'[errors]' => [],
	'[invalid]' => [],
	'[repository]' => 'Articles'

}
$articleid = (int) 29177
$metaTitle = 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche'
$metaKeywords = 'MGNREGS,mgnrega,NREGS,Employment,drought,Livelihood,monsoon'
$metaDesc = '
-Livemint.com

Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS 

New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of...'
$disp = '<div align="justify">-Livemint.com<br /><br /><em>Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS <br /><br />New Delhi: </em>Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)&mdash;the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs.<br /><br />Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government.<br /><br />According to data published on the Union rural development ministry&rsquo;s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015&mdash;at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively&mdash;compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September.<br /><br />In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work&mdash;this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year.<br /><br />Marathwada is made up of eight districts&mdash;Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani.<br /><br />MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days&rsquo; employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.<br /><br />The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%.<br /><br />&ldquo;Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,&rdquo; which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. &ldquo;We call these dry farming tracts,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven.<br /><br />Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. &ldquo;Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,&rdquo; he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific.<br /><br />In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada.<br /><br />&ldquo;The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,&rdquo; one of the officials said, requesting anonymity.<br /><br />But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers.<br /><br />&ldquo;This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,&rdquo; Kadam said by phone from Arvi. &ldquo;People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,&rdquo; he said.<br /><br />In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it.<br /><br />&ldquo;At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,&rdquo; Deshmukh said.<br /><br />&ldquo;Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,&rdquo; he added.<br /><br />Experts dismissed the argument.<br /><br />&ldquo;MGNREGS&emsp;was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,&rdquo; said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. &ldquo;The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,&rdquo; he said.<br /><em><br />Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story. </em><br /></div>'
$lang = 'English'
$SITE_URL = 'https://im4change.in/'
$site_title = 'im4change'
$adminprix = 'admin'

include - APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp, line 8
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1413
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1374
Cake\View\View::renderLayout() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 927
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 885
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 791
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 126
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51

Dry spell for MGNREGS jobs in rain-starved Marathwada -Elizabeth Roche

-Livemint.com Despite reeling under a severe monsoon deficit, the region has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under MGNREGS New Delhi: Although reeling under a severe monsoon deficit for the second year in a row, the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has seen a surprise fall in demand for jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS)—the result, said experts, of years of government neglect, low wages and a shortage of jobs. Normally during rural distress, there is a spurt in demand for jobs under the social safety scheme that guarantees a minimum of 100 days’ employment. Marathwada is bucking this trend, prompting experts to turn on the government. According to data published on the Union rural development ministry’s website, the number of person-days of work under the programme in the months of June, July and August fell by 28% in 2015 compared with the same three months in the previous year. Aurangabad and Hingoli were the districts that saw the sharpest fall in the number of person days in 2015—at 59.5% and 60.6%, respectively—compared with 2014. The rainfall deficit was 33% in Aurangabad and 43% in Hingoli as on 11 September. In fact, barring Osmanabad and Parbhani, all the districts in Marathwada have seen a decline in person-days of work—this in a region where 600 farmers have allegedly committed suicide between January and August alone this year. Marathwada is made up of eight districts—Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani. MGNREGS was launched by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2006 with the aim of mitigating rural distress by guaranteeing a minimum of 100 days’ employment to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The monsoon as on 10 September was 15% deficit nationally; in 2014-15, the rainfall was 12% deficient. In the Marathwada region, the monsoon is 45% deficient this year, according to data available on 12 September with the weather department; in 2014, the corresponding figure was 42%. “Marathwada is considered a drought-prone area. This is because of its physio-graphic position due to which after the monsoon has passed Goa and the Konkan area (western Maharashtra), not much rainfall reaches this region,” which is in the interiors of the state, said N. Chattopadhyay, deputy director general of the agricultural meteorology division at the India Meteorological Department in New Delhi. “We call these dry farming tracts,” he added. Government officials overseeing MGNREGS in New Delhi and Maharashtra, however, said jobs are being given to those demanding work as the programme is demand-driven. Experts differed. Himanshu, an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and visiting fellow at Centre de Sciences Humaines, New Delhi, blamed the crisis on what he called the general neglect of MGNREGS by the Union government in the past few years. “Since 2009-10, the budget for the programme has declined almost by half in real terms. MGNREGS wages are lower than the minimum wages in the state, so people are moving away from the programme,” he said. But this, he said, this was a country-wide problem and not Maharashtra-specific. In New Delhi, officials at the rural development ministry cautioned against reaching any hasty conclusions as to whether the programme had been ineffective in dealing with the agrarian distress in Marathwada. “The programme could be maximized in terms of utilization of funds, but Maharashtra had performed better than other states. We have disbursed 70% of the budget to the states. We have conveyed to the states that money is no problem,” one of the officials said, requesting anonymity. But in drought-hit Parbani district, Manik Kadam, headman of Arvi village with a population of about 2,400, corroborated the story told by the numbers. “This is the reality that we are living. Here, there are no jobs that are being given to the people of my village under MGNREGs even if we ask for them,” Kadam said by phone from Arvi. “People are leaving my village and others nearby for places like Nashik and Pune for jobs. The rains have been bad this year. About 50 people left Arvi last week and another 50 are set to leave in another few days. There are only old people left in my village now,” he said. In the state capital Mumbai, Prabhakar Deshmukh, principal secretary for water conservation and employment guarantee, refuted charges that the Maharashtra government had been slow to respond to the worsening drought and in giving jobs under the employment guarantee scheme to those who demanded it. “At the end of August, around 12 million workers were given jobs under the programme. Of these, more than 50,000 were from Marathwada region,” Deshmukh said. “Due to drought, there will be hardly any work available in the fields in rabi season, so we expect increase in demand for work under NREGS from October onwards,” he added. Experts dismissed the argument. “MGNREGS was crafted to give jobs to people during the lean agricultural season and during floods and drought when crop damage is high. There is a list of 30-odd activities that are taken up under the programme. So to say that there is less demand between June and August and more demand later is wrong,” said N.C. Saxena, a former rural development secretary. “The reality is that there is lots of demand, but no jobs available,” he said. Nikita Mehta in New Delhi and Makarand Gadgil in Mumbai contributed to this story.