Do people participate in the decentralised planning of MGNREGS works? Evidence from Karnataka

This paper examines whether citizens participate in the planning processes initiated by the local government and whether citizen’s voices were heard in the preparation of development projects in the specific context of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). In this wage employment programme, citizens can access the benefits as a matter of right or entitlements. Participation by citizens is a key mechanism to ensure the accountability of the local government in the delivery of benefits to the people demanding for work under MGNREGS. In this regard, participatory planning gains lots of importance. Decentralised planning ensuring citizens′ participation will have greater success in undertaking need-based activities and successful implementation of the programme. By analysing primary data collected from a district in a South Indian state of Karnataka, this paper shows that people’s participation in the planning process varied across the villages. An important enabling factor for people to participate in the preparation of development plans is demand for the work. The paper finds positive association between people’s participation in the planning process of the programme and the demand for work. It is shown that when there is an adequate demand for work, people automatically participate and exercise their rights. The demand for work found to be high in backward region and among socially disadvantaged households.