 The
Scheme
NREGA
calls for the formulation of a Rural Employment Guarantee
Scheme (REGS) by every State Government within Six months
of the date of commencement of the Act. Each REGS was required
to have the minimum features specified in schedules I and
II of the Act. The Section-4 of the Act also provided that
until such a scheme is notified by the state Government,
the Annual or Perspective Plan of the Sampoorna Grameen
Rozgar Yojna (SGRY) or National Food for Work Programme
(NFFWP), whichever is enforce in that area, shall be deemed
to be the Action Plan for the scheme for the purpose of
this Act.
U.P.
Scenario
As per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Rural Development
(MOPR), New Delhi the scheme of NREGS was initiated in the
state of Uttar Pradesh also since Feb. 2nd, 2006 in 22 district
of the State through an executive order. However, State
cabinet accorded to approval and 23rd May, 2006. The scheme,
as required under section-4 of the Act, was formulated by
the state Government on 8th Feb, 2006, i.e., after the year
of the enactment of the Act and the NREGS was designated
as Uttar Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (UPREGS)
after the gazette notification of 8th Feb. 2007. New during
the current financial year the scheme has been extended
to 17 New Districts.
Salient
Features of UPREGS
- Objective
of the Scheme : Adopted the in toto the provision of the
Act.
- Eligibility
:
- A
Household : The available 100 days' employment will be
divided amongst all the its willing adult members.
- The
household members must reside in Gram Panchayat area.
- The
willing members must seek registration for Job Cards.
- Must
obtain Job Cards.
- Must
apply for the manual unskilled labour.
- Must
turn up at the site for the work.
- The
registered ladies must be given preference for work atleast
upto 33 percent.
The disabled registered workers must be given work to
according to their ability and capability.
Types
of Works to be executed :
According to section-4(3) of the Act the focus of the scheme
shall be on the following works in their order of priority
:
- Water
conservation and water harvesting;
- Drought
proofing (including a forestation and tree plantation);
- Irrigation
canals including micro and minor irrigation works;
- Provision
of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging
to the schedule cast and schedule tribes or to land of
beneficiaries of land reform or that of the beneficiary
under the Indra Awas Yojana of the Government of India;
- Renovation
of traditional water bodies including desilting of tanks;
- Land
development
- Flood
control and production works including drainage in water
logged areas;
- Rural
connectivity to provide all-weather access; and
- Any
other work, which may be notified by the Central Government
in consultation with the State Government.
Identification
of the Project :
- The
Gram Panchayat shall be responsible for identification
of the projects in the gram Panchayat area to be taken
up under a scheme as per the recommendations of the gram
Sabhas and the Ward Sabhas and for executing and supervising
such works.
- Preparation
of Annual Action Plan or Perspective Plan by nominated
agencies who were to formulate such plans with consultation
to Gram Sabhas.
Execution
of the Scheme :
- Atleast
50% works by Gram Panchayats.
- Contractors
not to be engaged.
- Machines
not to be deployed, as far as practicable.
- New
works can not be taken up until atleast 10 labourers are
available.
- Facilities
of Furst aid Box, shade, cretche and drinking water to
be provided at the work site.
- Facilities
of free medical treatment to the workers injured at the
work and compensation in certain cases.
Wages:
- Minimum
Rs-80/- per day
- No
discrimination based on sex
- Weekly
payment or at the must in a fortnight
- Necessary
entry of wages on Job Cards
Unemployment allowance:
In case of failure to provide employment with 15 days of
the demand, unemployment allowance to be paid with in 15
days @ one fourth of the wages rate for the first 30 days
and one-half of the wage rate of the remaining period of
the financial year.
Organizational set up:
State level: for the purpose of regular monitoring and renewing
the scheme the state government constitution under sec-
12 of the Act a State Council, known as State Employment
Guarantee Council.
- Not
more than 15 non-official members nominated by the State
representing PRIs. Organizations of workers and disadvantages
of groups.
- Gram
Vikas Vibhag the Nodal Department.
District
level:
CDO nominated as Distt. Programme coordinator and DDO as
Addl. Distt. Programme coordinator.
Block
level:
- BDO
to function as Program Officer.
- The
PRIs will be the Chief Planning and Execution Agencies.
Publicity:
- Dissemination
of publicity material in local language
- Publicity
through multiple communication media
- Audio
Visual Aids and cultural programms
- Seminars
and meetings
- Application
of RTI for transparency and accountability.
Financial
pattern:
The central government will bear the following costs:
- The
entire cost of the wages for unskilled manual workers.
- 75
percent of the cost of material and wages for skilled
and semi-skilled workers.
- Administrative
expenses as may be determined by the central government
will be include, inter alia, the salary and allowance
of Programme Officer their support staff and work site
facility.
- Administrative
expenses of the Central Employment Guarantee Council
The
state government will bear the following costs:
- 25
percent of the cost of material and wages for skilled
and semi-skilled workers.
- Unemployment
allowances payable in case the State Government cannot
wage employment within 15 days of application.
- Administrative
expenses of the State Employment Guarantee Council.
The
Study
While
working on this scheme since its inception through base
line survey, workshops and seminars and frequent deliberations
with the district coordinators of "NERGA campaign"
UPVAN demand it to proper to critically examine the status
of Uttar Pradesh Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The
study was conducted on sample method. Based on certain development
indicators twelve Distt under UP NREGS were selected for
detected study. From every district two blocks and from
every block two gram Panchayats were selected.
Organizational status
- No
visible impact of UP State Employment guarantee council
could be market in field.
- The
implementation of the scheme with skeleton staff and that
too on adhoc basis has adversely affected the process
of work.
Applying
for the wage employment
- The
parochial dealing of gram Panchayats has deprived the
needy ones.
- The
Gram Pradhans as per directives of the officials did not
issue the receipt for the application for demanding work
because the at both the levels there was fear of fixing
the responsibility for the non-payment of unemployment
allowances.
Job
Cards
Neither
issued timely nor handed over to the labour with the clear
intention of mis- appropriation.
Availability of work
The
data presented at the Internet regarding the availability
of work is miscoding. In fact only such numbers have been
shown as applied who were pointed wage employment.
Wages
The
minimum wages fixed by the M.PR were Rs. 60/- per day. How
the State Government allowed only Rs. 58/- per day. Now
the Gramya Vikas Vibhag has fixed Rs.80/- as wages per day
since 23rd May, 2006 based on the wages for agricultural
labour which were prevalent since Feb. 24,2006 through an
order of Labour Department of the Government of the Uttar
Pradesh.
Weaker
section
- Despite
the provision in the Act the women worker could not be
allocated for manual labour. There was hardly 8% participation
of women in the selected districts under study.
- Instances
of discrimination based on sex were also found with regard
to the payment of the wages.
- The
problem of disabled of has been taken by the Implementing
Department indifferently. Even their actual numbers on
works has been wrongly reposted. Now some NGOs have come
forward to plead their cases.
Transparency&
Accountability
- The
largest group is being kept unaware about the provisions
of the scheme willfully so that they could not create
problem.
- The
necessary records are not made available to the stakeholders.
The records are mostly kept by the Sachive, Gram Panchayats
who always remains on wheel. The Gram Panchayats are not
able to understand that what are their duty to show the
records on demand. Failing which they can be penalized
under section-14 of UP Panchayat Raj Act, 1947.
- The
records not available was to NGOs officially deputed for
Social Audit by the Government.
Scheme
& CSOs
- Some
of the CSOs are playing praise worth role in the planning
and monitoring of the scheme on their own initiative.
However, they have not been given a due reorganization
by way of monitoring them as members of the Nigrani Samiti
at various level.
- The
Social Audit works done by few CSOs is yet to make to
debut.
The Inference
The
success of any programme depends namely on two factors.
Firstly how the programme has been concerned and planned.
Secondly, the implementers capable and have proceeded ahead
to execute the programme with good intentions.
As discussed earlier, the scheme has not been planned in
a stipulated manner. The implementers are ...... capable,
nor their intentions are clear. These factors have adversely
affected the implementation of the scheme, as would be evidenced
from the facts stated in subsequent paragraphs.
Intentions of the Target Group
and Implementers
The
target group has treated this scheme as a non-employment
allowance provider and that is why people of this group
have always been swarming the throng of Job Card seekers.
The implementers have viewed this scheme from another angle.
They viewed it as a good harvest of the seeds sown during
preceding PRIs', elections. The officials viewed it as an
opportunity to bargain with the implementers at the time
of the release of untied funds. The fate of the scheme could
be guessed with such three-pronged intentions.
The Scheme initiated with the above-mentioned background
almost failed to make any debut, as would be evident from
the inferences given in subsequent paragraphs.
- The
government of the Uttar Pradesh could formulate the scheme
of NREGA only after a year i.e. on 8th February, 2007.
- The
perspective plan for the respective gram panchayats under
the scheme, were formulated by the institutions nominated
by the government. They hardly consulted Gram Sabhas during
the formulated of the Action Plan/Perspective Plan. Consequently
the Perspective Plan prepared could hardly be of and use.
Wage
Employment
In the absence of proper Action Plan the works could not
be identified and hence hardly 6% are the workers from amongst
the job card holder, could get wages employment in a year.
Migration
Migration at workers in rural areas continued mainly due
to two factors- short duration works and low wages.
Sustainable Development
So for the gram panchayats have not been able to create
durable public Assets Leading towards sustainable development.
In 43% Gram Panchayats under study the drains/Kharanja construction
were in prominence. The works like digg......... of ponds
and or a forestation could have been promising durable public
assets, but they have been done in a quite unplanned manner.
This could be of no use.
The facts studied above testifies that the scheme could
neither provide wages employment and put a check on village
exodus, nor it has been able to generate durable public
assets, promising. Scope of rural employment hence in order
to bring the scheme. On the right track few suggestion are
enlisted in subsequent paragraphs for the active consideration
of the government.
Recommendation
:
1.
Removal of Fallacies
Effort should be make to remove the fallacies of the villagers
that not this is a scheme of fetching unemployment allowance.
They have to clearly, understand that this is demand based
scheme, where only those persons should apply for the Job
Cards who actually want to work. The Gram Pradhans must
also not forget that through this scheme they be able to
'oblige' only their resource group members. The officials
must also been it in mind that they will be held responsible
and accountable in the very near future.
2.
Action Plan
The resources available in villages under ownership of gram
panchayats must be identified and proper action plan should
be formulated before initiation of work on this scheme.
3. Empowerment of Gram Sabhas
The gram Sabhas should be activated through persuasion and
orientation of the members regarding the salient features
of the scheme.
4.
A Well Knit Organization
Minimum required staff must be posted at every stage of
work. The staff posted must be given proper training through
initiate as well as orientation courses at stipulated period
of times.
5.
Source Financial System
The stress should be made not only on allocation but on
utilisation of funds.
6.
Types of Works
Only such works which are actually needed by the majority
of villagers. Efforts should be made to take up such works
which may lead to sustainable development. The works like
afforestation should be taken up only when proper place
is available and there are arrangements for after care.
7.
Preferential Treatments for the Weaker Section
The women and disabled and requisite conditions of works
be created for this section of the society.
8.
Transparency & Account ability
-
For transparency all the records pertaining to this scheme
must be available with the gram
Pardhans.
-
In the planning and execution of the schemes majority
of the Gram Sabha members must be
taken into confidence.
-
The necessary details of works under execution must be
displayed in villages at proper places.
-
The Social Audit Reports of Gram Sabha and CSOs must be
given due weightage by the
Government.
9.
Role of CSOs
The Civil Society Organization (CSOs.) working in the area
should be taken into confidence. Their support in creating
awareness, planning the works and implementation should
be sought. However, precaution should be taken is selecting
the civil Society organizations
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