How MGNREGA is being used to stop distress migration in Maharashtra's Nandurbar

Indian Express

17-06-2025

For the first time in decades, Surupsinh Mansinh Padvi and Macchindra Vasave say they would not have to leave their village in Maharashtra's tribal dominated Nandurbar district this year in search of work.
They are among the Nandurbar's tribal farmers who migrate en masse to the brick kilns in Gujarat or the construction sites in Madhya Pradesh in search of seasonal work. On average, around 20,000 people — mostly the young and the able-bodied — would migrate outside the district for work.
Forced migration has been a permanent feature in the Talamba village under the Akkalkuwa taluka of Nandurbar, where both work and fields dry up in the summer in the absence of sufficient irrigation. According to the farmers, their fields do not yield enough for them to look after their families.
Now, the farmers say they plan to take up orchards, and are looking for more income from their fields.
'Thanks to the field ponds, we managed to have under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Generation Scheme (MGNREGS), we would now have enough water to tend to our fields,' says Padvi as Vasave nods along.
Tweaking MGNREGS
Dr Mittali Sethi, District Collector, Nandurbar, says this distress migration can be stopped if work is made available to those who need it the most, right at their doorstep.
'For such work, MGNREGS would come in handy, but it requires that enough work is available to be given on demand. This required proper coordination with the line agencies. Our aim was to ensure that work which improves the overall financial condition of the beneficiary,' says Sethi.
In 2024-25, Nandurbar saw 1,47,284 households demand work, of which 1,46,870 got work, according to data on the MGNREGA website.
Job cards — distributed by the Gram Panchayats to labourers who wish to avail work under the scheme — were routinely distributed to almost everyone eligible in the district, but the jobs were not always easily available.
'Also, work should be made available to those who need the most, those who migrate,' says Sethi.
The district authorities then decided to run a pilot called Nandadeep under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in 12 villages — 2 in each of the six talukas of Nandurbar — to see how the scheme could be run.
The project was started by identifying the families that migrate, and then giving them work to stop them from leaving. Each village saw around 60 to 70 such families who left their homes in search of work.
'Nandadeep identified villages which report a high level of migration. The next step was to ensure the work would be made available easily. This was done through the coordination with all the departments,' says Sethi.
Widening the scheme
After the Nandadeep scheme, the construction of water retention structures, orchard plantation etc, was taken up, and minor irrigation works were prioritised, which would help the MGNREGS beneficiaries.
In the Taloda taluka, the Dhavjapani and Malda villages saw the construction of cement tanks for water conservation under Nandadeep.
Sunil Padvi is another young farmer from Malda in the Taloda taluka who migrates to Pune for work every year. Padvi, who used to sow bajra and maize just once a year, says he would now be able to take two crops with the water availability, and would not have to migrate for work.
Padvi's land is at an elevation of 100 metres above the ground, which has no irrigation facility. 'Using the scheme, I managed to create a farm pond, and also get a plantation done for a mango orchard,' he says.
The structure is at a depression, so Padvi invested in a drip irrigation facility to raise the water level. 'Now that the orchard and water are available, I am sure in the next few years, the orchard will earn good money,' he adds.
District collector Sethi says with its positive results, the pilot, which was started in late 2024, has encouraged them to widen the scheme in all the 255 villages in Nandurbar.
Partha Sarathi Biwas is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express with 10+ years of experience in reporting on Agriculture, Commodities and Developmental issues. He has been with The Indian Express since 2011 and earlier worked with DNA. Partha's report about Farmers Producer Companies (FPC) as well long pieces on various agricultural issues have been cited by various academic publications including those published by the Government of India. He is often invited as a visiting faculty to various schools of journalism to talk about development journalism and rural reporting. In his spare time Partha trains for marathons and has participated in multiple marathons and half marathons. ... Read More