Were District Choices for NFFWP Appropriate?

The National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP), launched in 2004, identified 150 backward districts, where employment guarantee scheme was to get started. The 150 districts were identified by the Planning Commission on the basis of three criteria, Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) population, agricultural productivity per worker, and agricultural wage rate in the district. We find that the final choice for the NFFWP was not consistent with the methodology mentioned, nor can it be defended by using other measures of backwardness. We investigate whether political factors have determined the choice of these districts.