Extent of Participation of Beneficiaries in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in South India

This paper examines the extent of participation and factors responsible for participation of beneficiaries in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu state. Ex-post- facto research design was used in this study. The study is based on 120 respondents drawn by simple random sampling method from eight Gram Panchayats which had more MGNREGA beneficiaries selected from two randomly selected blocks in the district. The respondents were interviewed personally by a well-structured and pre- tested interview schedule. The overall participation of the beneficiaries was in medium level. Majority of the beneficiaries had regular participation in Grama sabha, open project meeting and meetings conducted by Social Audit Committee. Economic and personal factors had influenced majority of the beneficiaries to take part in the MGNREGA activities followed by organizational factors.