THE NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE ACT (NREGA)

SAURABH KUMAR C-48 PURANJAI KUMAR

LOGO

OBJECTIVE OF THE NREGA

To enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work .

NREGA - Overview
Salient Features
Employment to all those who are willing to work (100 days)
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

Unlimited supply of funds for this project

 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

MGNREGA
In its fourth year, NREGA has been rechristened after Mahatma Gandhi in a move which marks Congresss 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.

Objective of NREGA
Unemployment
Enhancement of

Sustained Development
Create rural assets

livelihood security of
households Arrest rural migration

Create livelihood
resource base Restore environment

Expectations from NREGA

Primary Supplement employment opportunities
Auxiliary Regenerate natural resource base of rural livelihood for sustainable Process development Outcomes Strengthen grass root processes of democracy Infuse transparency and accountability in governance

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 )

Phase I NREGA(200)

(Backward Districts ranked on basis of agricultural wages, output per agricultural worker and SCT/ST population of the district)

Phase II NREGA(130)

Phase III NREGA(266)

State and Local Government

State Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (REGS)

25 per cent of the cost of material and wages for semiskilled/ skilled workers

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

Administrative expenses of the State Employment Guarantee Council

Other Institutions
Ministry of Rural Development State Government
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (REGS)

District Panchayats
District Programme Cocoordinator (DPC)

Gram Sabha (GS)

Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC)

District Panchayats

Programme Officer (PO)

State Employment Guarantee Council (SEGC)

Intermediate Panchayat (IP)

Others

Gram Panchayat (GP)

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

Work site facilities such as crche, 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 Panchayats 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

1000000

1500000

2000000

2500000

3000000

3500000

500000

0
AP Ar. P . Assa m Chat r tisga rh Guj a rat Har a yana HP Jh ar khan d Kar a nat a ka Ker a la J&K Biha

Employment Provided: 2.10 crore HHs

MP Mah aras htra Man ipur Meg hala ya Mi zo ram Naga l and Or is sa Punj ab Raj a stha n Sikk im TN Uttra Tripu ra n ch a l UP WB

Demand for Employment met (until March 2007) Employment Demanded: 2.12 crore HHs

Significant Increase in Person-days Person-days in crores Generated

1 2 3 Average Person-days per year in 586 distts: (SGRY+ NFFWP) . (2001-06) 4 NREGA in 200 districts Person-days SGRY in generated 586 districts (2005-06)
Total Average per District

(2006-07)

82.18 0.14

83.3 0.142

90.4 0.45

More than three times increase in employment generation per district under NREGA Primary Objective of NREGA to augment employment generation met

100.0

120.0

20.0

40.0

60.0

80.0

A.P AR. PRADESH ASSAM BIHAR GUJARAT HARYANA H.P J&K KARNATAKA KERALA M.P MAHARASHTRA MANIPUR MEGHALAYA MIZORAM NAGALAND ORISSA PUNJAB RAJASTHAN SIKKIM TAMIL NADU TRIPURA U.P W.BENGAL CHHATTISGARH JHARKHAND UTTRANCHAL

0.0

Major Share of SC/ST HHs in Employment Share of ST & SC >61. 77%

ST > 36.38% / SC > 25.39%

SCs STs

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

WOMEN 40%

OTHERS 60%

Better than target

Participation of Women

WOMEN 40%

Tamil Nadu (82%) Rajasthan (69%) Kerala (67%)

Andhra Pradesh (56%

Karnataka (52%)
Gujarat (49%) UP (15%) J&K(1%)

National average: Highest shares: 81% 67%

40% Tamil Nadu Rajasthan Kerala

66%
Andhra Pradesh 55% Lowest shares: 17% 17% Himachal Pradesh 12% 4% Bihar Uttar Pradesh

Jammu & Kashmir

Share of Women in NREGA Employment

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

0
AP Ar. P Assam Chat t isgarh Guj ar a t Har ya na HP Jhark hand Kar an at aka Ker al a MP Maha ra stra r Manip u Naga J&K Bihar

Significant Share of Women in Workforce

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

National Average
Mi zor am l and Or iss a Punj a Raj as b than Sikkim TN Tripu Uttran ra UP ch al WB

State wise performance

NREGA Progress
Date: July 12, 2006 Sl. No. State Districts Rural households Applications Job cards Employment provided No. of works Funds released 1 Andhra Pradesh 13 6104032 3954522 3954522 704101 22063 20000 2 Arunachal Pradesh 1 7905 45070 16256 272.85 3 Assam 7 923966 160897 104383 6990 534 13970.845 4 Bihar 23 8943456 2401836 1071522 505281 17619 40503.38 5 Chattisgarh 11 1792584 1696860 1534636 162480 9671 17321.72 6 Gujarat 6 1596636 604695 597028 73791 1716 4113.94 7 Harayana 2 304178 81489 76421 15573 288 913.39 8 Himachal Pradesh 2 167349 70084 62408 24848 2249 683.64 9 Jammu & Kashmir 3 319692 169038 65531 4127 283 986.365 10 Jharkhand 20 3806040 1755005 1171831 467832 9451 37618.59 11 Karanataka 5 1484815 572892 315412 118810 3678 6329.69 12 Kerala 2 603527 225133 2179.51 13 Madhya Pradesh 18 3890287 4281258 4144413 1804953 69783 93617.22 14 Maharashtra 12 3706706 4139778 1094659 183075 6152 17961.645 15 Manipur 1 22299 45172 17880 570.89 16 Meghalaya 2 109577 2064.68 17 Mizoram 2 22828 41808 29016 298.9 18 Nagaland 1 48697 430.11 19 Orissa 19 3503354 2702290 1900553 563681 23559 31516.56 20 Punjab 1 237480 39318 33375 21284 976 755.75 21 Rajasthan 6 1461606 1443720 1423013 846263 13809 40000 22 Sikkim 1 7955 4696 4696 451.5 23 Tamil Nadu 6 1811557 541568 535519 82009 668 9889.21 24 Tripura 1 57709 62736 58114 16218 327 1456.66 25 Utttar Pradesh 22 9021545 1950901 1641250 466726 15627 33498.69 26 Uttranchal 3 211495 282182 176636 6206 1739 1910.6 27 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

Funds
NREGA 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 Slot Generation

Slot to Code capture thumb print

Arrow Key for starting the device

Slot to insert Operator / Customer card

ASSETS CREATED UNDER NREGA

Type of Work
Water Conservation and Water Harvesting

Total works taken (no.)

Works completed (no.)

Ongoing Works (no.)

Benefit Created
737 Lakh Cu Mt.of water storage capacity through Digging new tanks/Ponds ,percolation tanks ,Small Check Dams 3 Lakh Km of Drainage in wager logged areas through Construction & repair of embankment .13 Lakh Km of canals .16 Lakh Hectares of land provided with irrigation facilities 481 Lakh Cu Mt. of water storage capacity through desilting of tanks/ponds ,desilting of old canals ,Desilting of traditional open wells 3.35 Lakh Hectares of land leveling & bunding 3.45 Lakh Hectares of land Afforestation and tree plantation 2.37 Lakh Km of Roads

266365 17113 27682

121921 10206 12151

144444 6907 15531

Flood Control and Protection

Micro Irrigation Works Provision of Irrigation facility to Land Owned by SC/ST Renovation of Traditional Water bodies Land Development Drought Proofing Rural Connectivity Any Other activity.

80794

27362

53432

59924

25472

34452

88557
77305 179661
33537

43370
30989 91244
20776

45187
46316 88417
12761

TOTAL

830938

383491

447447

Community Building
Building Rural India

Regenerating Natural Resource Base of Rural Livelihood

Community Building Water Rural Afforestatio Conservati n Connectivi on ty

- 51% of the works undertaken
- 14% of the works undertaken - Water Conservation and Water Harvesting - Renovation of Traditional Water Bodies - Micro Irrigational Works - AP and MP leading in the forefront in these activities - 17% of total works undertaken - UP, MP and Bihar leading in the number of works undertaken

- Drought Proofing

Highest Priority to Water Conservation in choice of works under NREGA

4 11 Water Conservation
(54%)

Provision of Irrigation facility to Land Owned bySC/ST (10%) Rural Connectivity 54

21

(21%)

Land Development (11%)

10

Any Other activity (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

Problems
Lag in the implementation (only 4/14 districts)

Problems
Minimal participation from SCs and STs
One of the lowest

Strategy for Strengthening Management Support to NREGA

Action Initiated
Central 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

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

Details of Institutions
Indian Institute of Womens Studies Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability
Monitor implementation of NREGA, identify implementation challenges faced by State Gov, Local admn and PRIs, increase awareness of NREGA,
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.

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, recommendation s; sensitise stakeholders

Suggestive corrective measures, assess strengths and weaknesses in Schemes

Coverage

2 distts of Orissa,Maharash tra, TN, WB

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

1 in AP and 1 in Karnataka

6 districts of Bihar
58

6 districts of Gujarat

Road Ahead

ACTION TO BE TAKEN

(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 Ranchi ( Jharkhand) Karnataka)

Insurance of wage earners in some districts: Pakur, Gumla, Developing Literacy skills among wage earners (Raichur in

Convergence with other development programmes: Jetropha

( Chattisgarh, MP) Forest Nurseries ( Udaipur in Rajasthan, Khandwa in MP)

Linkages with other Development Initiatives

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 Projects Watershed Management Income Generation Projects to enable workers to move from wage employment to self-sustaining employment: eg. Tank excavation with pisciculture development by SHGs

Insurance for NREGA workers

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

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

Dept of Posts has indicated need to strengthen its

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

Progress Report

Implementation & Effectiveness of NREGA

33lakh works generated in 619 districts
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 STs 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

Achievements
Major progresses after 2007 Total corruption free implementation
Panchayats took the responsibility seriously Implemented the programme very fast

Effectiveness of Kudumbasree system

Community of poor people Created a feeling of unity among them Doing work for their localities created an urgency

Constraints
Processes: Unintended Hierarchical roles assumed by

PRIS in approving plan of works in NREGA in some states o Causes delay in work plan approvals by District and Intermediate Panchayats as reported by State RD Secretaries of Bihar, UP o Superceding priorities of Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayats reported in several states o Legacy 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