Distress migration from rural areas have gone down: Ramesh

"There is ample evidence to show that migration from Bihar to Punjab has actually come down.

"There is clear evidence that whether it is from Odisha, whether it is from Bihar or whether it is in states like Andhra Pradesh or Karnataka-- the Bellary region or the Mahboob Nagar region which had traditionally been hotspots of distress migration-- distress migration has in fact come down," he said citing the positive impact of MNREGA.

"I have collected revenue from all the trains go from Bihar to Punjab and I can assure that every mail and every express train run on this route is complaining about MNREGA as a single biggest source of drop in revenue for the Indian Railways," he said after releasing a book titled "The Long Road to Social Security" here.

Ramesh said the programme aims at enhancing livelihood security of people in rural areas have empowered the socially disadvantaged group of the country.

"In Bihar, Mushar community... Nothing has been done more for Mushahar's dignity than MNREGA. Nothing has been more effective in empowering ex-bonded labourers and ex-manual scavengers in parts of Andhra Pradesh than MNREGA," he claimed.

Ramesh said that objectives of the programme are wage employment, creation of community assets and empowerment of gram panchayats.