India Explained
ImplementedINCVasantrao NaikState: maharashtra

Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme (1972) and Act (1977)

Maharashtra began a rural public-works scheme in 1972 during a drought, financed partly by a state profession tax, and gave it statutory form in 1977. Outcome evidence in the sources opened is limited.

Maharashtra

Facts

  • A 1972 Maharashtra government resolution sanctioned the Employment Guarantee Scheme, and work under it began in May 1972, per a search-result summary of a Planning Commission note whose URL was not retained (unverified). The scheme was targeted at rural adults and at 'C' class municipal councils.
  • The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act, 1977 gave the scheme statutory backing and provides for an Employment Guarantee Fund; the Act text is on India Code (seen in search results, not opened) [2].
  • The Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1975 took effect on 1 April 1975; tax-practitioner commentary (seen in search results) says it was introduced to fund the scheme, and the Act's text directs amounts into the Fund [4].
  • The state's 1975-76 Annual Plan allocated Rs 40 crore to the scheme; the Planning Commission and the state agreed in 1975 to a joint evaluation by the Programme Evaluation Organisation, with a report issued in October 1977 as PEO Publication No. 74 [1].
  • Work by Gaiha, as summarised in a search result (the working paper at [6] was listed there but not opened, so the attribution is unverified), reports that participation in the scheme fell sharply between 1980 and 1997 and links this partly to irrigation expansion raising farm employment [6].

Why

Reasons given by those who did it

  • Commentary on the 1975 tax says the scheme was started to address drought conditions in Maharashtra [4].
  • The Planning Commission record shows the Centre treated the scheme as a programme to be evaluated for its own annual planning, with a visit by Planning Commission member B. Sivaraman in July 1975 providing an implementation framework [1].

Criticism of that reasoning

No criticism of the stated reasons is recorded yet.

Benefits and concerns

Benefits (2)

  • A dedicated statutory fund and a state tax gave the scheme a funding channel separate from annual budget decisions.Employment Guarantee Fund under the 1977 Act and profession tax Act of 1975, as described in search-result summaries [2][4]; not verified from the statute text.
  • The scheme was the subject of a joint Centre-State evaluation soon after launch, giving an early evidence process.Joint Evaluation, PEO Publication No. 74 (1977) [1]; findings were not retrieved.

Concerns (2)

  • A state audit reportedly found shortfalls in planning, financial management, registration of labourers, selection and execution of works, wage payment and monitoring.Search-result summary mentioning a CAG performance audit of the scheme; the CAG chapter at [5] appeared in the same results but was not opened, so the link between them, the year and the paragraph are unverified.
  • Reported participation in the scheme declined over 1980-97, which the cited work links partly to irrigation expansion and partly to a shift from community to individual assets that involved fewer workers.Search-result summary of work by Gaiha [6]; unverified.

Evidence points

+5.0
points, mean of two scorers (scale −25 to +25)
+4 to +6
range between the two scorers' totals
Low confidence
scorers agree within 1 point on every criterion
ReachHow many people did the action materially affect?
Mean +2.5A +2B +3
Outcome evidenceDo official or independent data show the intended result (or its opposite), compared with the era baseline and peers?
Mean 0.0A 0B 0
Cost and sustainabilityIs the fiscal cost proportionate, and is the effect durable?
Mean +1.0A +1B +1
Process and rightsWas it made with debate, consultation and legal soundness, and did it respect rights and court rulings?
Mean +1.0A +1B +1
DeliveryWas it implemented as announced, on time and at scale?
Mean +0.5A 0B +1

Positive meanNegative meanScorer AScorer B

Scorer A. A statutory fund and profession tax backed the scheme, but outcome findings were not retrieved and audit shortfalls and declining participation are unverified.

Scorer B. Dedicated fund and statute but evidence thin: unverified audit shortfalls and declining participation.

Context used when scoring

Era baseline
In the early 1970s India had no national rural employment guarantee; central rural works programmes were limited, and Maharashtra faced a severe drought.
Lag before outcomes show
3 years
Shocks considered
drought-1972
Uncertainty
Low confidence. Scorer totals are +4 and +6. How uncertainty is shown.

In depth

Maharashtra’s scheme is often discussed as a forerunner of later national rural employment programmes. It began in 1972 during a drought, using public works for unskilled rural labour, and was tied to a state-level tax on professions and employment from 1975. A 1977 Act gave it statutory form and a dedicated fund.

This entry rests mainly on catalogue records of the Planning Commission’s joint evaluation and on search-result summaries of statutes and audits. The evaluation’s findings, the statute texts and the audit chapter were not opened, so the facts about financing and the audit findings are provisional and the confidence is low.

A later study, summarised in search results only, reports that participation fell over 1980-97 as irrigation expanded farm work. A reader wanting to assess outcomes should consult the 1977 PEO report and the later academic reviews directly.

Sources

  1. Joint Evaluation of Employment Guarantee Scheme of Maharashtra, PEO Pub No. 74 (catalogue record, 1977)
    Planning Commission, Government of India (NITI Aayog Library)Official data
  3. Joint Evaluation of Employment Guarantee Scheme of Maharashtra, Second Paper (catalogue record, 1976)
    Planning Commission, Government of India (NITI Aayog Library)Official data
  4. Maharashtra Profession Tax Act 1975 (text; seen in search results, not opened)
    Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax DepartmentPrimary

Last reviewed .Report an error orchallenge a score.

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