5 years of MNREGA implementation-World's largest Employment Guarantee programme.

Since 2nd february,2006- India witnessed the implementation of a policy miracle manifested in the form of the enactment of the MNREGA scheme. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The scheme notwithstanding the deficits is a "BIG" policy miracle no doubt and was initiated with the best of intentions. The very fact that in a country like India where the huge demography poses the challenge of unemployment necessiates that the political economy comes up with an institutional innovation to give an opportunity to all who demand it. This is a herculean challenge but the fact that rural demography demands a different set of employment landscape namely an assured means of job + a steady flow of purchasing power  coupled with the ability to do manual work (unskilled Vs. skilled employment in urban areas)  gave the MNREGA the required framework needed. The scheme enabled the rural population to slowly move towards the path of "right to employment" . The scheme was hence started with noble ambition and need...MNREGA had generated 880 crore person days of work since its inception.52 per cent of the work has been done by those belonging to the Scheduled Cases and Scheduled Tribes and 47 per cent by women.wages under MNREGA were now being disbursed through more than 10 crore bank and post office accounts.

 In recent years a number of fallacies have however,  erupted in the implementation process of the same. The implementation of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) continues to suffer from bottlenecks even as the UPA flagship programme completes five years on February 2, 2011.

The rural development ministry(which is the nodal ministry) is concerned over the poor performance in some states on indicators like average person days generated per household, spending of approved labour budget, non-payment of unemployment allowance and delay in payment of wages.Data available with the ministry shows that though the act guarantees 100 days of employment per year, the national average is just 34 person days per household generated under the rural job plan. Surprisingly, many big states could not even touch this figure. For instance West Bengal could achieve only 19, Punjab 21, UP 28 and Bihar 29 person days.

NAC members like Aruna Roy and Jean Dreze have been demanding third party role in the social audit of MGNREGA works to have more transparency in the scheme. Currently the village sarpanch, whose role in some cases is doubtful, does it.Non-payment of unemployment allowance to the workers if they are not given work after 15 days of registering for it is another problem area.Against Rs. 22,44499 due as unemployment allowance, the payment made by the states was only Rs. 1,68,549 till October 2010 in the financial year 2010-11.Cases of delayed payment of wages, delay in measurement of work, lack of staff to oversee the works, and limited number of banks and post offices to facilitate wage payment through bank accounts too present a challenge before the government.The government has spent Rs. 74,677 crore on MGNREGA wages since inception, which is around 70 per cent of the total expenditure.States also failed to spend their approved labour budget targets for 2010-11. For instance, Andhra Pradesh spent only Rs. 39 lakh against Rs. 41 lakh, Rajasthan spent only Rs. 55 lakh against Rs. 75 lakh, Uttar Pradesh spent only Rs. 40 lakh against 68 lakh and Madhya Pradesh spent only Rs. 28 lakh against allocated Rs. 48 lakh.Government's ambitious rural employment project had come under the scrutiny of the Supreme Court which observed that money was not reaching real beneficiaries and in many cases going to wrong hands. 

Nevertheless , MNREGA is a right policy stand under the said situations. People may question- What use is the MGNREGA to the economy at large?The testimony to this are:

-->This scheme was one of the essential tool that facilitated the smooth drift of India during the recent financial crisis.In Rajasthan , even cynical politicians and administrators admit that the drought of 2009 passed off without huge rural unrest due to MGNREGA.  

-->It is important to address the three biggest issues raised to discredit the act — human resources, corruption, and productive assets. 

 MGNREGA has given people, the largest economic resource in our country, some amount of work, and plenty of dignity. In state after state, workers have testified that guaranteed employment has enabled them to fight many battles including a system of oppression where they have no choice but to acquiesce to forced labour, indebtedness and the indignity of having to beg for survival . The unemployed are becoming workers, and workers are raising issues of citizenship. 

 There is no doubt that corruption threatens and undermines the MGNREGA, but it is being fought with courage and determination by some of the most disadvantaged people in our country. In fact, it has given birth to some anti-corruption activists  those who fight for guaranteeing provisions for transparency and accountability, it has empowered the ordinary worker to question and demand answers from the local power structure. There is however, a lot of supression and misallocation of resources that do take place at this level of implemtation.

Assets-  Several-thousand water harvesting structures have been built in the most eco friendly manner possible, rural roads have connected some of the poorest , most inaccessible hamlets, millions of dalits, land allottees and BPL families have converted wasteland into productive plots through MGNREGA work. 

-->A substantial section of the beneficiaries of the NREGA were Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and women.

ROADMAP AHEAD-

In fact, the recent initiatives such as the linking of the MNREGA workers wage to the Consumer price Index and government proposal  to create a biometric data base of all workers covered under its flagship MNREGA scheme and use it to authenticate work applications, work-site attendance and wage payments would  substantially reduce instances of discrimination in work allocation, delayed payments and bogus muster rolls. The initiative of priority being given to Left-wing extremism affected districts, and districts where the annual MNREGA expenditure is above a certain level such as  Rs 100 crore would help to fill up the loopholes. Authorities should take strict action against  harassment and intimidation of social auditors.Comprehensive rules to strengthen the social audit process by the gram sabha should be  formulated.

I do believe that MNREGA is one of the most dazzling piece of legislation enacted in India...If implemented in right spirit ...it can ascertain "RIGHT TO EMPLOYMENT" for all paving the way for social dynamism and economic development.

(Inputs from MNREGA site, DD news,The Hindu, ET, Business standard, Deccan Herald and  DNA).