Rural job scheme: Hits & Misses

Rural Job Scheme: Hits & Misses

A compilation of research studies

What is MGNREGA?

In 2005, the union government passed the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which is both a labour law and a social security measure.

It aims to tackle poverty through the generation of employment of unskilled labour and thus, incomes.

The Mandate

The Act promises 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…

“Bottom-up, people-centered, demand-driven, self-selecting and rights-based”

Objectives:

• Social Protection for the vulnerable

• Creation of durable assets; protection of land and water resources

• Rural Flood Management

• Empower the marginalised (SCs, STs, women etc)

• Deepening of democracy to grassroots levels

• Cover over 200 rural districts

Salient Features

Registration with Gram

Panchayat in writing, or orally

Job Cards to each registered household for identification, notification of

work and wages

Work provided within 5 km of

residence; transport financed

otherwise

Salient Features

Priority to women for work

Prohibits use of contractors and machinery

Wages to be paid weekly

Transparency (Social Audits, Public Scrutiny)

Ground RealitiesThe success of the MGNREGA remains dubious. While the achievements cannot be denied, the failures have become evident too.

Issues related to MGNREGA

Positive Change

5 crore households, around 25% of all rural

households, were provided over 209 crore person-days of work in 2011-12

66 % of the total expenditure under

MGNREGA was spent on worker wages

40-50 % is the share of SCs and STs in the

work provided across each year of the scheme’s implementation

47% of the total person-days

generated have been by women

27 to 7% was the drop in

distress migration in Anantpur Andhra

Pradesh due to availability of work

51% works related to

water conservation, flood control,

irrigation, drought water bodies

9 % rise in gross

cropped area in Bihar thus good returns of both

public and private assets.

70% of the irrigation

structures ensured perennial water

across agricultural seasons

A Long Wait

Only 10 % households

in Rajasthan received payments within limit; in

Madhya Pradesh, 23%

In Mandla, Madhya Pradesh and Narmada, Gujarat,

people shifted back

to other works due to delay

Over 10 crore post/bank office accounts

80% of the total wages

are now being paid through these

Migration

Distress migration down but

migration in search of better

and more lucrative opportunities continues as

before

MGNREGA cannot match the wages

of skilled labour in cities.

In Rajsamand and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan much of the MGNREGA workers were women and elderly while younger men migrated to urban centres for relatively higher incomes.

Success of Assets

Dependent on district/region-specific implementation of the scheme

Affected by factors such as poor planning, lack of technical support, irregular flow of funds, delayed payment

Lack of community involvement

Lapse in the efforts of Gram Parishads

Women: On the Field OnlyGender difference in wages reduced, yet in some public

works, the difference is larger : Rs 98.3 for men and Rs 86.1 for

women.

Unavailability of work-site facilities like crèches is a huge

disincentive

Participation of women in the scheme limited to field work

Absence in worksite management, in staff appointments, planning through participation in gram

sabhas and social audits

To get it known

Low awareness about benefits of MGNREGA has been another impediment which can be changed though social audits

Improvement in awareness levels before and after social audits

“A Government dole rife with Corruption”

Fake entries in muster rolls

Payment of less than notified

wages

Delay in payments

Inadequate staff and irregular supervision

Highly irregular social audits thus

lack of transparency and

awareness

Inactivity of gram parishads and

sabhas

As CAG looks at itNon-payment or under payment of wages of Rs

36.97 crore noticed in 14 states.

Works amounting to around Rs 4,070 crore

incomplete after one to five years of launching

Impermissible works undertaken to the tune

of Rs 2,252 crore

No social audit units in 10 states and 4 UTs,

99% of beneficiaries not provided work

within 15 days were not paid the

unemployment allowance.

The per rural household

employment has declined from 54 days in 2009-10 to 43 days

in 2011-12

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