Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA)-The Journey so far and the Future Hyderabad

Background Large under-employed and surplus labour force in rural areas with little or no skills Livelihood insecurity for millions living in rural areas Little or no participation of poor in development programmes Heavy dependence on agriculture for livelihood Low agriculture productivity Low & unequal wage rates between men & women Environmental degradation

Transition from “Allocation based welfare program” to “Rights based, Demand driven, people centric, bottom-up, self selecting” strategy 5th Sept., 2005- this historic legislation was passed

Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Preamble “For the enhancement of livelihood security of rural households by providing at least one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work”

Objectives 1) supplement wage-employment opportunities in rural areas – provide a safety net for rural poor 2) create sustainable rural livelihoods through rejuvenation of natural resource base – land, water, forests 3) strengthen grassroots democratic processes and infuse transparency and accountability in rural governance

MGNREGA: Basic Features 100 days' wage employment assurance Unemployment allowance if work not provided A fixed timeline for payment of wages, compensation for delayed payments Transparency & Accountability Wages to be credited to Bank/ Post office accounts

Primary Stakeholders & Roles Central Govt: Provide funds, ensure that the spirit of the Act is observed State Govts: Preparation of Scheme & Implementation Panchayats: Planning & Execution Workers: rights & entitlements Community: Planning & Oversight

Mahatma Gandhi NREGA: Processes

Works Workers Fund Transfer Work Flow Of MGNREGA Works proposed by Gram Sabha To Apply for Registration Fund transfer from Center Gram Panchayat Feasibility examined Fund transfer from States Job card Issued Technical , Fin. and admn approval D.P.C. HH demands for work Shelf of work prepared P.O. Admn. Exp. Other Impl. Agency Work allocation by Panchayat Transfer fund Work completed and assets created issue pay Blank muster roll forms having unique no. Unemploy. allowance Work provided, muster roll filled and wage paid Expenditure on material

Application for Registration Unit of Entitlement is the Household. Registration application to be made to local Gram Panchayat. Application may be in a form prescribed or a plain paper or oral Prescribed form is free of cost & easily available at GP

Verification of the Registration Application The Gram Panchayat verifies the application on the basis of: local domicile All household members applying for registration are adult No discrimination is made in registration in terms of caste, creed, gender Single Women living alone may register independently After verification, the house hold will be registered & issued Job card

Registered households receive a Job Card

Provision of Work If work is not provided within the prescribed time limit, workers are eligible to get unemployment allowance Panchayats to prepare a shelf of works which can be offered on demand Work to be provided to only adult members Work to be provided within 5 km radius If worksite is beyond 5 km, 10% additional wages paid Persons older in age & women to be given preference for work nearer to village Each work should have at least 1/3rd of women workers

MGNREGA: Works & Employment

MGNREGA- Works Focus Conserve & Improve Natural resource base Non negotiable- No contractor, No labour displacing machines Category of works Water conservation and water harvesting Drought proofing, plantation and afforestation Irrigation canals, Micro and minor irrigation works Renovation of traditional water bodies Land development, flood control and protection Rural connectivity

MGNREGA- Works Water & Soil Catchment Area Treatment (Contour trenches & bunds, graded bunds, bench terracing, field bunds Check dam construction Ponds (irrigation pond, dugout sunken pond, percolation tank, farm ponds) Water harvesting structures Ground water recharge (contour trenching, recharge shafts, low height check dams) Irrigation provisioning and improvement (dug well, canal renovation, canal construction, desilting, field channel etc.) Renovation of traditional water bodies

MGNREGA- Works Land Development, Drought Proofing & Flood Control Land Development (conservation bench terracing, contour and graded bunds, field bunds, pasture development) Drought Proofing – Afforestation (tree plantation, boundary plantation, agro forestry, block plantation, agro-horticulture, fencing etc.) Flood control (diversion channel, peripheral bunds, surface drainage, field drains with culverts, renovation of drainage

Workers Entitlement Workers are entitled for basic worksites facilities like: Safe drinking water Shade for children & for workers during rest First aid box for emergency treatment of minor injuries One maid to look after 5 or more children below the age of six years Workers are entitled to check the muster rolls at any time Workers have a right to ask the measurement details If wages are not paid within 15 days, workers are entitled to receive compensation as per the Payment of Wages Act

MGNREGA : EMPLOYMENT PROVIDED Employment provided to H.H. F.Y. (2008-09) (2009-10) (2010-11) (2011-12) (2012-13) Employment provided to H.H. 4.51 cr. 5.26 cr. 5.49 cr. 5.04 cr. 3.24 cr. Persondays (in Cr.) Total 216.32 283.59 257.15 216.34 92.65 SC 63.36 (29%) 86.45 (30%) 78.76 (31%) 47.70 (22%) 21.21 (23%) ST 55.02 (25%) 58.74 (21%) 53.62 39.59 (18%) 14.02 (15%) Women 103.57 48%) 136.40 (48%) 122.74 (48%) 103.81 50.55 (55%) Avergage Persondays per H.H. 48 days 54 days 47 days 43 days 29 days Average wage per day ` 84 ` 90 ` 100 ` 115 ` 130

MGNREGA : TYPES OF WORK F.Y. (2008-09) (2009-10) (2010-11) (2011-12) Work Details F.Y. (2008-09) (2009-10) (2010-11) (2011-12) (2012-13) (Aug – 2012) Total Works taken up (New + Spill over) (in lacs) 27.75 46.17 50.99 82.51 71.68 Works completed 12.14 22.59 25.90 18.56 4.83 Water Conservation 39% 43% 42% 44% Drought Proofing 7% 8% 9% 11% 13% Provision of Irrigation facility (Category IV) 20% 17% 18% 12% Rural Connectivity 22% 19% Land Development 15% 14%

Transparency & Accountability

Social Audit: Concept & Practice Not fault finding exercise Not another layer of “Inspector Raj” Tool for empowerment of stakeholders Management tool for planners and implementers Comprehensive verification of records & field, done by Gram Sabha & facilitated by trained youth.

Social Audit & Mahatma Gandhi NREGA Social Audit is a process in which the details of Mahatma Gandhi NREGS resources (financial & non financial) are shared with the community. In Social Audit, the community scrutinizes/ verifies the authenticity of all records/ procedures of works & expenditure incurred Social Audits shall be held at least once in every six month The Programme Officer or Gram Panchayat to provide all necessary documents for conduct of social audit Social Audit Unit to cross check the documented information with facts & read the findings before the Gram Sabha

Public Accountability All accounts & records relating to the Scheme are to be made available for public scrutiny A copy of muster rolls of each work has to be made available at Gram Panchayat & to Programme Officer Citizen information boards at worksite indicating the details of work, persondays of employment funds etc Display of information on the Gram Panchayat notice board Key information will be disclosed in local language at gram Panchayat office & Programme Officer’s office All data are available freely accessible to the public at www.nrega.nic.in

Social Audit : Current Status Core Resource persons (10 to 30) of 20 states trained at SSAAT, Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh have set up independent Social Audit Unit. Punjab, Gujarat, Sikkim have outsourced the responsibility of Social Audit. One pilot district, one pilot block (preferably highest spending block) to be selected for social audit. 8 states have completed pilot social audit (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Sikkim, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka)

Impact

Positive Trends & Findings Increase in Agriculture Minimum Wages , wage earned per day & annual income. (Source: IIM Lucknow,CSD) Bargaining power of labour has increased NSSO 64th round survey, 2007-08: There was no gender differential in wage rates for MGNREG works. Considerable wage disparity in other types of work Financial Inclusion: > 10 crore accounts opened Distress migration has reduced in many parts (IIM[Shillong], CSE, CSD) Effective targeting of marginalized groups SC/ST/BPL (Source: IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Lucknow, Administrative Staff College of India 27 27 27 27

Positive Trends & Findings MGNREGA is used as a supplementary income source during non-agricultural seasons (Source: IIM Ahmedabad) “Green Jobs” created as nearly 70% works relate to water conservation, water-harvesting, restoration, renovation & desilting of water bodies, drought-proofing, plantation & afforestation (IIFM Bhopal, GTZ) Productivity effects of MGNREGA reported - Improvement in ground water (Source: ASCI, IIS,IIFM) - Improved agricultural productivity & cropping intensity (Source: IIFM, IIT Roorkee) - Livelihood diversification in rural areas (Source: IIM Shillong, IIFM) 28 28 28 28

Measures to Improve MGNREGA Performance ICT based MIS operationalised-job cards, muster rolls, fund management, grievance redressal etc. Operationalisation of eFMS (Electronic Fund Transfer System) and eMMS (Electronic Muster & Measurement System). Payment through Bank and Post offices: State Government has been suggested to roll out Business Correspondent (BC) Model to make wage payment through Banks with Bio-metric authentication at village level Social Audit – Audit of Schemes Rules notified on 30th June 2011 5. Focus on IAP districts: Following initiatives have been undertaken for effective implementation of MGNREGA in IAP districts: Wage disbursement in cash Additional human resources: Panchayat Development Officer & Technical Assistant in Gram Panchayats of IAP districts. Construction of Play Ground Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow in IAP districts 6. Convergence with other Schemes. 7. Revision of MGNREGA Guidelines under finalization.

Road ahead…. To improve mechanism for capturing demand for work To improve quality of assets and create more green jobs Deeper engagement of community in Planning, Implementation, Monitoring, Concurrent evaluaton Strengthening linkages with Livelihoods Natural Resource Management

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