NREGA ACT

LOGO

OBJECTIVE OF THE NREGA

NREGA - OverviewSalient Features

Employment to all those who are willing to work (100 days)

Unlimited supply of funds for this project

Free registration with a job guarantee within 15 days of application

At least 1/3rd of the employees must be women

Fixed minimum wage rate and no upper limit

Weekly disbursement of wages and delays not beyond a fortnight

Registration in writing or orally to the local Gram Panchayat

The Gram Panchayat after due verification will issue a Job Card

The Job Card should be issued within 15 days of application.

Employment will be given within 15 days of application for work

Work should ordinarily be provided within 5 km radius of the village

Wages are to be paid according to the Minimum Wages Act 1948

NREGA GOALS

Empowerment of rural poor through the processes of a rights-based Law

Growth engine for sustainable development of an agricultural economy.

Through the process of providing employment on works that address causes of chronic poverty such as drought, deforestation and soil erosion

The natural resource base of rural livelihood and create durable assets in rural areas

In its fourth year, NREGA has been rechristened after Mahatma Gandhi in a move which marks Congress’s tribute to the Father of the Nation and is also expected to stall rivals from appropriating its pro-poor flagship scheme. Announcing the decision at a conference of panchayat members to commemorate the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on Friday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it apt as Gandhi held the concept of ‘gram swaraj’ in high esteem. An amendment will be tabled in the winter session of Parliament to prefix NREGA with ‘Mahatma Gandhi’.

MGNREGA

Objective of NREGA

Unemployment Sustained Development

• Enhancement of

livelihood security

of households• Arrest rural

migration

• Create rural assets

• Create livelihood

resource base• Restore

environment

Expectations from NREGA

Expectations from NREGA

Process OutcomesStrengthen grass root processes of democracy Infuse transparency and accountability in governance

Auxiliary Regenerate natural resource base of rural livelihood for sustainable development

Primary Supplement employment opportunities

COVERAGE

The Act was notified in 200 districts in the first phase with effect from February 2nd 2006 and then extended to additional 130 districts in the financial year 2007-2008

NREGA COVERAGE (1st Nationwide employment scheme )

State and Local GovernmentState Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (REGS)

• 25 per cent of the cost of material and wages for semi-skilled/ skilled workers

• Unemployment allowance if the state is unable to provide employment within 15 days

• Administrative expenses of the State Employment Guarantee Council

District Panchayats

State Governmen

tMinistry of

Rural Developme

nt

Central Employme

nt Guarantee

Council (CEGC)

Rural

Employment

Guarantee

Scheme (REGS)

District Programm

e Co-coordinator (DPC)

Gram Sabha (GS)

District Panchayat

s

Programme Officer

(PO)

Intermediate

Panchayat (IP)

OthersState Employm

ent Guarantee Council

(SEGC)

Gram Panchayat

(GP)

Other Institutions

At least one-third beneficiaries shall be women who have registered

Work site facilities such as crèche, drinking water, shade have to be provided

The shelf of projects for a village will be recommended by the gram sabha and approved by the zilla panchayat

At least 50% of works will be allotted to Gram Panchayats for execution

A 60:40 wage and material ratio has to be maintained. No contractors and machinery is allowed

Key Stakeholders

i) Wage seekers ii) Gram Sabha iii) PRIs, specially the gram panchayat iv) Programme Officer at the block level v) District Programme Coordinator vi) State Government vii) Ministry of Rural Development

The Gram Panchayat’s responsibility

i) Planning of works

ii) Receiving applications for registration

iii) Verifying registration applications

iv) Registering households

v) Issuing Job Card

vi) Receiving applications for employment

vii) Issuing dated receipts,

viii) Allotting employment within fifteen days of application

ix) Executing works

x) Maintaining records

xi) Convening the Gram Sabha for social audit

x) Monitoring the implementation of the Scheme at the village level

Generation of job card

OUTCOMES

Demand for Employment met (until March 2007)

0

500000

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000

Employment Demanded [Mar, 2007] Employment Provided [Mar, 2007]

Employment Demanded: 2.12 crore HHs

Employment Provided: 2.10 crore HHs

Significant Increase in Person-days Generated

1 2 3 4

Person-days generated

SGRY in 586 districts

(2005-06)

Average Person-days per year in 586 distts: (SGRY+ NFFWP)

. (2001-06)

NREGA in 200 districts

(2006-07)

Total 82.18 83.3 90.4

Average per District

0.14 0.142 0.45

More than three times increase in employment generation per district under NREGA

Primary Objective of NREGA to augment employment generation met

Person-days in crores

Major Share of SC/ST HHs in Employment

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40.0

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80.0

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120.0

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SCs STs

Share of ST & SC >61. 77%

ST > 36.38% / SC > 25.39%

WOMEN 40%

OTHERS 60%

At least 1/3rd of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under the Scheme

(NREGA ACT, Schedule II, Section 6)

Actual achievement

Better than target

WOMEN 40%

•Tamil Nadu (82%)

•Rajasthan (69%)

•Kerala (67%)

•Andhra Pradesh (56%)

•Karnataka (52%)

•Gujarat (49%)

•UP (15%)

•J&K(1%)

Participation of Women

National average: 40%

Highest shares: Tamil Nadu 81%

Rajasthan 67%

Kerala66%

Andhra Pradesh55%

Lowest shares: 17% Bihar Uttar

Pradesh 17% Himachal

Pradesh 12% 4% Jammu & Kashmir

Share of Women in NREGA Employment

Significant Share of Women in Workforce

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Employment provided to women [%age of total employment provided] upto MAR-2007

National Average

State wise performance

NREGA Progress Date: July 12, 2006

Sl. No. State Districts Rural households Applications Job cards Employment provided No. of works Funds released1 Andhra Pradesh 13 6104032 3954522 3954522 704101 22063 200002 Arunachal Pradesh 1 7905 45070 16256 272.853 Assam 7 923966 160897 104383 6990 534 13970.8454 Bihar 23 8943456 2401836 1071522 505281 17619 40503.385 Chattisgarh 11 1792584 1696860 1534636 162480 9671 17321.726 Gujarat 6 1596636 604695 597028 73791 1716 4113.947 Harayana 2 304178 81489 76421 15573 288 913.398 Himachal Pradesh 2 167349 70084 62408 24848 2249 683.649 Jammu & Kashmir 3 319692 169038 65531 4127 283 986.365

10 Jharkhand 20 3806040 1755005 1171831 467832 9451 37618.5911 Karanataka 5 1484815 572892 315412 118810 3678 6329.6912 Kerala 2 603527 225133 2179.5113 Madhya Pradesh 18 3890287 4281258 4144413 1804953 69783 93617.2214 Maharashtra 12 3706706 4139778 1094659 183075 6152 17961.64515 Manipur 1 22299 45172 17880 570.8916 Meghalaya 2 109577 2064.6817 Mizoram 2 22828 41808 29016 298.918 Nagaland 1 48697 430.1119 Orissa 19 3503354 2702290 1900553 563681 23559 31516.5620 Punjab 1 237480 39318 33375 21284 976 755.7521 Rajasthan 6 1461606 1443720 1423013 846263 13809 4000022 Sikkim 1 7955 4696 4696 451.523 Tamil Nadu 6 1811557 541568 535519 82009 668 9889.2124 Tripura 1 57709 62736 58114 16218 327 1456.6625 Utttar Pradesh 22 9021545 1950901 1641250 466726 15627 33498.6926 Uttranchal 3 211495 282182 176636 6206 1739 1910.627 West Bengal 10 7374151 3322241 1149145 495493 3305 18358.84

TOTAL 200 57541426 30595189 21178219 6569741 203497 397675.175

# In column applications are for registration of households# Blank spaces in the table denote information not received from States

Index: 1. Funds released pertain to 2006-7 [in lakh Rs.]

Funds

FundsNREGA ‘09 Budget Allocation -39,000 Cr.

Central Govt. provides only 75% of the material costs, promoting labour intensive works in NREGA

Components of Expenditure

• Material Cost

• Tamilnadu and Mizoram have achieved

almost Zero expense on material

• Orissa has high Material expenses

owing to “royalties”

• Expenditure on Wages

• Administrative expenses

• Nagaland and Gujarat have high

administrative expenses

A Snapshot for 07-08

Payment through Smart cards Based on new generation Near Field

Communications (NFC) mobile phones; contact-less RFID smart cards and integrated biometrics.

Alternate option of attaching fingerprint scanner + card reader to a PC or PoS.

Technology (M/s Fino)

Receipt lt SlotGeneration

Arrow Keyfor startingthe device

Slot to insertOperator /Customer card

Slot toCodecapturethumb print

ASSETS CREATED UNDER NREGA

Type of WorkTotal works taken (no.)

Works completed

(no.)

Ongoing Works (no.) Benefit Created

Water Conservation and Water Harvesting 266365 121921 144444

737 Lakh Cu Mt.of water storage capacity through Digging new tanks/Ponds ,percolation tanks ,Small Check Dams

Flood Control and Protection 17113 10206 6907

3 Lakh Km of Drainage in wager logged areas through Construction & repair of embankment

Micro Irrigation Works 27682 12151 15531 .13 Lakh Km of canals

Provision of Irrigation facility to Land Owned by SC/ST 80794 27362 53432

.16 Lakh Hectares of land provided with irrigation facilities

Renovation of Traditional Water bodies 59924 25472 34452

481 Lakh Cu Mt. of water storage capacity through desilting of tanks/ponds ,desilting of old canals ,Desilting of traditional open wells

Land Development 88557 43370 451873.35 Lakh Hectares of land leveling & bunding

Drought Proofing 77305 30989 463163.45 Lakh Hectares of land Afforestation and tree plantation

Rural Connectivity 179661 91244 88417 2.37 Lakh Km of Roads

Any Other activity. 33537 20776 12761  

TOTAL 830938 383491 447447  

Community Building

Building Rural India

Regenerating Natural Resource Base of Rural Livelihood

54

10

21

11

4

Water Conservation

Provision of Irrigation facility toLand Owned bySC/ST

Rural Connectivity

Land Development

Any Other activity

Highest Priority to Water Conservation in choice of works under NREGA

(54%)

(10%)

(21%)

(11%)

(4%)

Case : NREGA in Kerala Highest literacy rate (90.86)

Very high rate of unemployment

Tendency to link literacy to employment (myth)

First implemented on 5th Feb 2006

Only in 4 districts (Palakkad, Waynad, Idukki and Kasargod)

These districts had very low unemployment rate

Major features

Popularity of Trade Unions

Village Panchayats played the pivotal role with the help of technical staffs

Effectiveness of ‘Kudumbasree’ Organized into Neighborhood group (NHG) Area

Development Society (ADS) Community Development Society (CDS)

ADS played a pivotal part in NREGA

Major features

Focus on eco-restoration works

Wages are paid directly to individual bank accounts

Lag in the implementation (only 4/14 districts)

Problems

Problems

Minimal participation from SC’s and ST’s

One of the lowest

Action InitiatedCentral Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) set up. CEGC members actively involved in field visits, social audit along with the State Government, District officials: Jharkhand Ranchi, Lohardaga, Pulamao) Chattisgarh (Sarguja, Bilaspur). Proposed to cover other States: TN, MP, Orissa.Executive Committee set up to expedite implementation of Council decisions Technical Secretariat to bring in multi -disciplinary professional expertise outside Government systems to provide resource support to the Ministry in critical areas, inter alia Works design, National Data System, Social audit, Monitoring evaluation

Strategy for Strengthening Management Support to

NREGA

Need to adopt a Mission Mode to support implementation

Strengthening of Programme Division in the Ministry

National Programme Coordinator

Adequate Officers for close monitoring and

supervision

National Data Centre

Key Functions Conformity to statutory processes

Grievance Redressal

Follow up with States

MADHYA PRADESH, Sidhi(Jatropha Plantation - Nursery)

Qualitative monitoring and studies by professional institutions*Five institutions of repute identified to

undertake studies in 12 States Report to be submitted in 90 days Covering roughly 10 villages over 2

blocks and 20 households to be covered in each village

58

Details of InstitutionsIndian Institute of Women’s Studies

Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability

IIM Bangalore Institute of Human Development

Centre for Development Alternatives

Objective Analyse women access to NREGA, assess State Schemes, document labour market conditions, assist design gender sensitive works.

Monitor implementation of NREGA, identify implementation challenges faced by State Gov, Local admn and PRIs, increase awareness of NREGA,

Identify Practical issues of implementation, management and coordination through quick surveys at the worksites, village, conformity with Act & Guidelines

Process documentation; assess impact of NREGA on wages, employment, durable assets;policy, recommendations; sensitise stakeholders

Suggestive corrective measures, assess strengths and weaknesses in Schemes

Coverage 2 distts of Orissa,Maharashtra, TN, WB

1 distt. In AP, 2 each in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP

1 in AP and 1 in Karnataka

6 districts of Bihar

6 districts of Gujarat

Road Ahead

(Self Help Group at Nursery under NREGS, Chattisgarh)

Initial Positive Trends

Financial Inclusion: Savings accounts of wage earners in Banks/Post Offices in some States: AP( more than 20.00 lakh Post Office Accounts), Karnataka ( entire Gulbarga NREG workforce with Bank Accounts) , Jharkhand, TN

Insurance of wage earners in some districts:

Pakur, Gumla, Ranchi ( Jharkhand)

Developing Literacy skills among wage earners (Raichur in Karnataka)

Convergence with other development programmes: Jetropha ( Chattisgarh, MP) Forest Nurseries ( Udaipur in Rajasthan, Khandwa in MP)

•Linkages with Development Programmes:

National Rural Health Mission: ASHA for awareness generation about NREGA and health among NREGA workforce

National Literacy Mission: Prerak of Literacy Programmes for mobilising workforce and developing literacy skills in NREGA workforce

•Linkages with other Livelihood and Infrastructure initiatives Horticultural ProjectsWatershed ManagementIncome Generation Projects to enable workers to move

from wage employment to self-sustaining employment: eg. Tank excavation with pisciculture development by SHGs

Linkages with other Development Initiatives

Increasing NREGA workers’ security thresholds by extending cover of various life and health insurance schemesAct provides Rs 25000 compensation for death on work siteAim is to extend insurance cover beyond worksite to the whole family.Discussion on with LIC.

Insurance for NREGA workers

Opening Savings Accounts of Wage-earners. Savings Accounts of workers’ in Banks and

Post offices to ensure greater transparency in wage payment and encourage thrift and small savings

Dept of Posts has indicated need to

strengthen its Sub Post office/ Branch Post Office through computerisation of Sub Post office

Service charge proposed by Dept of Posts for opening wage earners’ accounts - matter still under discussion

Progress Report

Implementation & Effectiveness of NREGA

Highest ever allocation of Rs 39,100 Cr

About 4.19 Cr rural households provided jobs

• Improved – ‘employment per rural household’, share of women in workforce, expenditure per district, share of wages in total expenditure•Decreased % of ST’s benefiting from NREGA•Increase in daily wages by whopping 15%•Improved utilization of funds from 73% to 80%• source -Times of india 28-01-2010

33lakh works generated in 619 districts

Major progresses after 2007 Total corruption free implementation

Panchayats took the responsibility seriously

Implemented the programme very fast Effectiveness of Kudumbasree

systemCommunity of poor peopleCreated a feeling of unity among themDoing work for their localities created

an urgency

Achievements

Constraints Processes: Unintended Hierarchical roles

assumed by PRIS in approving plan of works in NREGA in some states

oCauses delay in work plan approvals by District and Intermediate Panchayats as reported by State RD Secretaries of Bihar, UP

oSuperceding priorities of Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayats reported in several states

oLegacy mindset of SGRY and tendency to follow Allocation based instead of Demand driven approach

Delivery Systems: No PRIS in Jharkhand creates problems of institutional delivery at the most critical level.

Recruitment of Personnel by States has taken time in some States due to election processes