7. Asset Creation Under MGNREGA and Sustainable Agriculture Growth: Impacts of Convergence Initiatives in Odisha and West Bengal

In 2009, the Government of India announced a new set of guidelines for planning of works and preparation of labour budget under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). This guideline made it mandatory for the states to ensure that at least 60% of MGNREGA related works undertaken in a district in terms of costs, is spent for creation of productive assets that are directly linked to agriculture and allied activities. This is very important considering that creation of productive assets is necessary not only for making ecological regeneration but also for ensuring sustainable growth of agriculture sector and creation of livelihood opportunities in a village economy. In this chapter, the authors analyze and document experience towards convergence of the MGNREGA work with other rural developmental schemes in the Odisha and West Bengal states of India. More specifically, the Chapter addresses the following issues: What are the different types of convergence models that have been initiated in Odisha and West Bengal? How have the joint efforts of various line departments contributed to conservation and management of natural resources? Are assets created under convergence initiatives sustainable in the long-run? How have these assets contributed to agriculture sector, particularly in respect of increase in production and yield, changes in cropping pattern, crop diversification, and multiple cropping? Can the existing institutions contribute to management and utilization of the assets created under convergence? If not, what institutional supports are necessary in this regard?