Asset Creation Under MGNREGS: The Case of Tripura.

The paper seeks to understand the success of Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) in the state of Tripura, India, in terms of nature and trend of activities, and the benefits accrued to participating households. The study observes that the number of activities taken up under the scheme increased by more than threefold during the six-year study period, i.e., 2014-15 to 2019-20. The trend growth rate of the number of activities stood at 24.8%. Land development, irrigation and water conservation remained the most prominent works, thereby creating an overwhelming dominance of activities earmarked as public works relating to natural resources management in the state. Creation of rural infrastructure, particularly, building of rural roads and internal streets, was also found to be a premier activity. The work completion rate (WCR) was around 44% in 2014-15, but came down to 7.49% in 2019-20, suggesting strong and significant inter-year differences in the average WCR. We also found statistically significant inter-district variations in WCR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]