— Dr H K Goswami
NREGA is the first ever law internationally, that guarantees wage employment at an unprecedented scale. NREGA aims at enhancing livelihood security of households in rural areas of the entire country by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The primary objective of the Act is augmenting wage employment. But its auxiliary objective is strengthening natural resource management through works that address causes of chronic poverty like drought, deforestation and soil erosion and so encourage sustainable development. The process outcomes include strengthening grassroots processes of democracy and infusing transparency and accountability in governance.
Unique features of NREGA include : time bound employment guarantee and wage payment within 15 days, incentive-disincentive structure to the State governments for providing employment as 90 per cent of the cost for employment provided is borne by the Centre or payment of unemployment allowance at their own cost and emphasis on labour intensive work prohibiting the use of contractors and machinery. The Act also mandates 33 per cent participation for women.
During the first year of implementation in 200 districts (financial year 2006-07), 2.10 crore households were employed. In 2007-08. 3.39 crore households were provided employment in 330 districts of the country. In 2008-09, up to mid-September, 2008, 2.9 crore households have been provided employment across the country. Comparing data on employment provided for phase-I and Phase-II districts from April to September, from financial year 2007-08 to financial year 2008-09, there is an increase of 17 per cent. Similarly, there has been an increase of 47 per cent in men generation in Phase-I and Phase-ll districts from financial year 2007-08 to financial year 2008-09 in the period from April to mid-September 2008. Moreover, the average wage paid under NREGA has increased from Rs. 75 to Rs. 80 in the financial year 2008-09 at the national level. The enhanced wage earning has led to a strengthening of the livelihood resource base of the rural poor. In 2007-08, more than 68 per cent of the funds utilized were in the form of wages paid to the labourers. In 2008-09, 71 per cent of the funds have been utilized in the form of wages (up to September 2008).
Significantly, the NREGA Programme had a high workforce participation of marginalised groups, namely, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (57 per cent in financial year 2007-08). In financial year 2008-09, up to mid-September 2008, the participation of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has been 55 per cent. Women workforce participation has also surpassed the statutory minimum requirement of one-third participation. In the financial year 2007-08, women participation was 43 per cent, which has increased to 49 per cent up to mid-September, 2008.
To avoid irregularities in wage payment, the Government of India has been encouraging the State governments to make wage payment through bank and post office accounts of wage seekers. Up to mid-September 2008, 4.2 crore NREGA bank and post office accounts have been opened to disburse wages. Workers are also being covered under Janshri Bima Yojana and Rastriya Swasthya Bima Yojana for accidental and health insurance.
Salutary effects have also been noted on natural resources through water conservation, land development, and afforestation projects taken up in large measures under NREGA. Enhancement of agricultural productivity has also been made possible through water harvesting, check dams, ground water recharging (particularly in Dungarpur district in Rajasthan and Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu), improve moisture content, check soil erosion and micro-irrigation works. The information from the field in the first year for which details are available shows that 75 per cent of the 8.3 lakh works have been water-harvesting structures, minor irrigation tanks, community wells, land development, flood control, plantations and so on. Benefits include the creation of over 12 crore cubic metres of water .storage capacity, three lakh km of drainage and embankments in water logged areas, 3.5 lakh hectares each of plantations and 1and development. These contribute also to drought proofing in low rainfall and semi-desert regions.
ln the financial year 2007-08, 17.88 lakh works were undertaken, of which 49 per cent constituted water conservation, 17 per cent rural connectivity, 16 per cent land development and provision of irrigation facility to individual beneficiaries constituted around 15 per cent and remaining 3 per cent works related to other activities. In the financial year 2008-09, up to mid- September 2008, 19.14 lakh works have been undertaken, of which 44 per cent relate to water conservation, 15 per cent rural connectivity, 23 per cent land development and provision of irrigation facility to individual beneficiaries constituted around 18 per cent and remaining 1 per cent works related to other activities.
Unlike many other programmes, programme implementation under NREGA has been entrusted to Panchyati Raj institutions which are the main planning and implementation authorities. Gram Sabhas have been assigned a pivotal role in planning. monitoring and social audit of projects under the Act.
A Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) at the national level has been set up with the statutory mandate of monitoring and reviewing the Act. The CEGC and the Executive Council have been meeting regularly and the EC members visited Jharkhand. Tamil Nadu, Orissa in 2007 and Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra in 2008. For effective monitoring of the projects 100 per cent verification of the works at the block level. 10 per cent at the district level and 2 per cent at the State level inspections need to be ensured.
(The writer is former Principal, Mangaldoi College)
source: assam tribune
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