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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Govt proposes changes in rural job scheme by Ruhi Tewari

Govt proposes changes in rural job scheme by Ruhi Tewari

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published Published on Sep 1, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 1, 2011

The rural development ministry has proposed several changes in the rural job guarantee programme to ensure timely payment of wages and eradicate graft at a time when the Congress party-led ruling alliance has come under fire for poor governance and its failure to tackle corruption.

The ministry has listed nine challenges to the proper functioning of the programme and proposed possible modifications in a note. The challenges include ensuring demand-driven legal entitlements, reducing delay in wage payments, addressing distress migration, providing the requisite number of days of employment and improving quality and sustainability of assets created under the programme.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) promises 100 days of work every year to each rural household and was introduced in February 2006. It has provided employment to 15.9 million households so far this fiscal and has a budget allocation of `40,000 crore for the year to 31 March.
 
Experts say acknowledging the problems faced by the scheme as well as the proposed reforms are a positive step as it sends out a clear signal about the ministry’s intention to crack the whip.

“This is for the first time that someone in the government at that level has actually admitted to shortcomings in MGNREGA and identified the problems,” said S.L. Rao, former director general of the National Council of Applied Economic Research. “Clearly defining the problems is the first step towards finding a solution.”

The ministry’s note is based on recommendations and suggestions from the Planning Commission, the National Advisory Council and some civil society groups. The note, which was put out in the public domain on Thursday for consultation, proposes reforms that do not require any legislative amendments but can be put into effect through executive action.

The ministry intends to first implement the suggested changes in the poorest 2,000 blocks, or sub-districts, in the country, especially those that have a high proportion of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe population.

To tackle the challenge of providing a legal entitlement to work, the note has proposed to make it mandatory for the states to record the demand for work, unlike now when it is assumed to be identical to the work provided. Recording the demand for work will also help in addressing the issue of non-payment of unemployment allowances.

The law entitles job-seekers to receive an allowance if the state government fails to provide them with work within 15 days of applying.

However, Mint reported on 25 August that none of the states has paid unemployment allowance due this fiscal. The ministry in its note also admits that the payment of such allowances is “very rare”. To reduce delay in wage payments, which according to the ministry is caused because of poor measurement of work done, lack of funds with the states and poor penetration of banks and post offices, it has suggested that each village council will get its second instalment of funds after it utilizes 75% of the first, strengthen the business correspondence model and make it mandatory for states to streamline payment cycles and fix timeframe for each stage. This will also help ensure full payment of work done and will help the states sustain a regular flow of funds, the note said.

The note also says better planning of work under the scheme would address the concerns of enhancing quality of infrastructure created by the programme as well as generate employment as demanded.

To strengthen participatory grass-roots planning, the recommendations include making “natural habitation” a unit for planning and execution, constituting a habitation level committee (HLC) with all adult inhabitants of the place with half of its members as women. The HLC will be the agency for planning instead of the current system where gram panchayats are the sole agencies.

To strengthen grievance redressal, the ministry has said it needs to overhaul the ombudsman system as well as frame rules that provide a monetary penalty on government officers who don’t do their duty.

Live Mint, 2 September, 2011, http://www.livemint.com/2011/09/01220023/Govt-proposes-changes-in-rural.html?atype=tp


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