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NREGA's non-existent impact on migrant labourers-Rukmini Shrinivasan

PATIALA/SANGRUR: Everyone agrees that theNREGA is causing a shortage of agricultural labour. Everyone, that is, except the workers themselves.

For the last two years, the "success" of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (commonly referred to as NREGA) in reducing the number of men migrating out of India's poorest states has become something of a truism. In Punjab, this has resulted in dozens of news articles about the shortage of migrant labour from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar during peak agricultural seasons. Bureaucrats, industrialists and some farmers, all agree with this assessment. However, an in-depth look at the situation during the paddy transplantation season—the most labour-intensive operation in Punjab's agriculture—shows that NREGA is a minor, if not insignificant, component of the changing landscape.

The Union ministry of labour and employment says that it has no evidence of a shortage of farm labour, and no evidence of any impact of NREGA. At the data level also in Punjab, there is no evidence of any slowdown in the number of agricultural migrants who come at the peak season. While the Punjab government says that it does not maintain data on the number of migrants coming to the state, economist Ranjit Singh Ghuman, the Nehru SAIL chair at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development in Chandigarh, has studied the issue. "Eight lakh migrant workers come to Punjab during the peak seasons. There is little or no change in this number," Ghuman says.

Even at the statistical level, NREGA as a factor in any "labour shortage" seems like a stretch given how poorly the scheme performs in Bihar, the source state for the maximum number ofmigrant labourers at this time. In 2011-12, just 9% of Bihar's households accessed the scheme. Further, the average participant got only 38 days of work as against the statutory maximum of 100 available days, making it one of India's worst performing states for the NREGA.

Unsurprisingly, over 100 migrants that TOI spoke to in Punjab's rice belt of Patiala and Sangrur districts said that the scheme was not enough to keep them from migrating for paddy transplantation work. Misri Lal has been coming to Punjab from Bihar's East Champaran district every year, for the last 22 years. "I have a job card [for the NREGA] but I haven't sought work under the scheme. Most people get their wages for NREGA work very late. I will keep coming to Punjab every year," said Lal, while working on a rice field in Patiala district's Gajju Majra village.

Working alongside him was Babu Lal Sahni, who was part of a group of 13 men from the same village, and has been coming to Patiala for the last four years. "We will get paid around Rs 1,800 per acre that we sow. We will work for several farmers, so by the end of the sowing season, we can each earn up to Rs 8,000. Every few days, we wire the money home. Compare this with doing NREGA work, where you will get just a few thousand rupees for the whole year, and that too much delayed," said Sahni.

In the adjoining Khedi Malan village, Lakhan Singh has come from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnore district. "I got only 3 days of work last year in NREGA. Less than half of our village has got job cards. A few days of work is no reason for any sensible person to stop coming to Punjab," he laughed.

While it is conceivable that those who choose to migrate may not be in a position to speak of those who decided not to migrate this year, the workers TOI spoke to said that no one in their family or village who migrated in previous years has chosen to stay back since the advent of NREGA.

Resting under a tree during their post-lunch break from work on the fields of Patiala's Sanserwal village was a group of workers from Bihar's Saharsa district. "We came by the Janseva Express and there were fights at many stations because the train was packed with workers like us while more wanted to get on," said Mohammed Sanjur. "Just see how packed all the trains coming from Bihar are. Anyone who thinks there are fewer workers coming should go and count the number of tickets being sold," said Rajendra Sharma, a worker from Bihar's Supaul district.

Many farmers agree that the number of migrant workers has not reduced; it's just that they aren't available at the right time. In Sangrur district's Nagra village, Khem Singh encourages the workers on his field, who are from Madhubani district, to speak out. "Everyone seems to think that Bihar has become America, but if these poor men were getting paid well in their villages, why would they come so far to work so hard?" he asked.

G S Sandhu, Punjab's financial commissioner (development), however believes that there is a shortage of migrant agricultural labour and that part of the solution is a ban on NREGA during peak agricultural seasons. The migrants TOI spoke to though said that they only seek NREGA work during the lean season.

If NREGA has had some impact, it appears to be in two ways. One, some migrant workers say that if a child or parent was to fall ill, the scheme might allow them to stay back in their village and still get some work. Second, the scheme might have had an impact in raising the base wage rate, says the CRRID's Ghuman. "The farmers' lobby has opposed the raising of the minimum wage in Punjab for the last three years. Bureaucrats are also opposed to the implementation of NREGA in Punjab. I think this bias is part of the reason they blame NREGA in Bihar for this non-existent shortage," he added.