Strengthening Rural Livelihoods through MGNREGA

A modest initiative in Aurabandha gram panchayat under Lorami block of Korba district exemplifies how the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act can transform rural lives by blending water conservation with sustainable income sources. Farmer Kishan Singh Aajivika Dubri, a farm pond built under MGNREGA at a cost of 1.94 lakh Rupees, now supports irrigation, rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and fish farming, turning perennial water scarcity into year round productivity.

This pond, completed with 792 person days of local labour, has curbed migration by providing wage employment while enabling multi cropping in both kharif and rabi seasons. Kishan Singh notes that prior shortages crippled yields, but the dubri ensures steady water supply, boosting crop output and opening fish sales as a steady revenue stream for his family. Under Collector Kundan Kumar and Zila Panchayat CEO Prabhakar Pandey guidance, such ponds exemplify integrated rural development, merging employment guarantees with agricultural resilience in Chhattisgarh tribal belts.

Korba scale up is ambitious: 285 ponds approved for 2025-2026, with 218 underway, 20 finished, and the rest targeted by March 2026. This aligns with statewide pushes, like Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai launch of 10000 such structures by May 2026, prioritising PMAYG beneficiaries on private lands to amplify incomes via aquaculture alongside farming and livestock. Similar models in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, including farm ponds for low groundwater zones, underscore a regional consensus on ponds as multi use assets for fish, water chestnuts or lotus cultivation.

Critics often fault MGNREGA for wage leakages or asset impermanence, yet Aurabandha proves its potential when fused with livelihood enhancement. These ponds combat climate vulnerability in rain fed areas, empower smallholders economically and reduce urban drift, key to Chhattisgarh rural stability.

For MGNREGA to reclaim its promise, districts must prioritise quality monitoring, skill training for fish farming and market linkages for produce. Korba Aajivika Dubri is no isolated success; scaled thoughtfully, it can redefine rural prosperity, proving that guaranteed work, when asset linked, forges enduring paths to self reliance.