Governance Practices at the Grassroots Level to Strengthen Rural Livelihoods through Mahatma Gandhi NREGS

Millions of people’s socio-economic lives have been profoundly impacted by the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, one of the largest programmes implemented in independent India. It is a demand-driven, people-centred, bottom-up initiative. Public policymakers, academicians, and people have often discussed the programme’s shortcomings and accomplishments in great detail. However, it is undeniable that the programme has improved peoples’ socio-economic empowerment and purchasing power by guaranteeing them 100 days of employment. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many saw the programme as the main source of food for India’s rural populace. The number of workers requesting employment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGS increased after COVID-19. The main objective of the paper is to identify the exemplary practices implemented by different Gram Panchayats (GPs) to effectively execute Mahatma Gandhi NREGS and improve the livelihoods of rural communities, to investigate the current status of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS implementation in the state of Tamil Nadu, and to examine the challenges associated with implementing best governance practices for the effective execution of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS. As a result, a systematic investigation was carried out in two districts, Dharmapuri and Mayiladuthurai, and the results of the investigation are reported in the article.