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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Rural job scheme shines in Maoist districts by Cithara Paul

Rural job scheme shines in Maoist districts by Cithara Paul

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published Published on Jun 13, 2010   modified Modified on Jun 13, 2010


They may be at the bottom of all social indicators but most Naxalite-affected districts have better scores to show in the rural job scheme than areas that are not under the insurgency shadow.

The main reason was better implementation, the direct result of the resolve by the state and central governments to counter the influence of the rebels through a development surge.

The other reason, rarely stated but tacitly acknowledged, is pressure from the Naxalites on government officials to deliver the goods.

A rural development ministry official said: “We are told that there have been several instances where Naxalites insisted that measurement of work be done within a week and payments made in a fortnight.”

A central review for 2009-10 shows 33 such districts have bettered the national average in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme on many counts — work completed, number of man days, wage payments and female participation.

The districts were spread across Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Orissa.

“Unlike most welfare plans that have failed in these areas, the performance of the NREGA has been remarkable,” said an official of the rural development ministry, which oversees the UPA’s showcase scheme.

The numbers bear this out. Forty per cent of the households — 31.5 lakh of them — in the rebel-hit districts got the minimum 100 days’ work under the scheme in 2009-10, up from 3.2 per cent in 2008-09. The national average is 35 per cent.

The average daily wage was Rs 93 against the national average of Rs 90. The speed of wage payments was also greater in the rebel-hit areas, with 98 per cent of the money paid. The national average was 84 per cent.

In female employment too, the districts did better: they had 55 per cent women workers against 49 per cent nationally.

Officials attribute the “unusually strong performance” in the Naxalite zones primarily to two factors: cutting through red tape to make registrations for the job scheme simpler, and tighter supervision and assessment.

As part of the moves, the state governments were asked to launch special awareness campaigns among eligible rural households. Officials were sent to homes to collect NREGA applications rather than wait for villagers to come to them.

More important, the states were directed that measurement of work — the basis of fixing the amount of wages — be done within six days of a project’s completion. They were also asked to pay wages within a fortnight. A central advisory had said every village in the rebel-hit districts should get at least one NREGA project.


The Telegraph, 14 June, 2010, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100614/jsp/nation/story_12563105.jsp


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