Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Wiping flaws by swiping a ‘smarter’ NREGS card by Tarannum Manjul

Wiping flaws by swiping a ‘smarter’ NREGS card by Tarannum Manjul

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jan 5, 2010   modified Modified on Jan 5, 2010

Fake entries and wrong entries have been the bane of the government’s flagship welfare plan — the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). However, Uttar Pradesh has found a way out. Starting July 2009, the state Department of Rural Development introduced the biometric smart card attendance system in 10 villages of two blocks, and in 2010, it plans to extend the same to at least one block in each of the 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh.

Here’s how it works. Along with a job card, every NREGS worker is given a smart card the size of a credit card, containing his/her name, picture, age, village, panchayat, block, district, registration date and name of the family’s head. The electronic data entry card is verified by the Block Development Officer, who also has a list of those who have been issued these cards.

The cards have microprocessors and an integrated chip, which have biometric records of the cardholder’s right and left thumb impressions.

All one needs to do is punch the card in a biometric machine, integrated with a thumb impression recorder and a global positioning system (GPS) device, and his or her attendance, alongwith details like site name, village name and district are recorded immediately. The GPS ensures that the details are recorded on the spot, and if not recorded on site, the fake entries are immediately exposed.  

The data entry, recording attendance and volume of work, is then transmitted through wireless technology to a server, eliminating manual filling up and subsequent fudging of muster rolls. The instant updating of transactions, open to both beneficiaries and the public, also improves the management and monitoring of the programme.

So far, the scheme has covered around 2,000 workers in Nawabganj and Asoha blocks of Unnao district, some 50 km from the state capital, and the reaction has been enthusiastic. Says Girjesh Kumar: “The cards are so small that I could not understand how they would compete with the big registers used for muster rolls. But now, things seem easier as I don’t have to put my thumb impression anymore.”

Janaki Devi feels at par with city women with the card in her purse. “I carry the card in a small purse and the moment I come to the site, I put it in the machine and my attendance is recorded. This is such a city style and I feel really nice.”

The Rural Development Department plans to take the cards eventually to all the 820 blocks in the state. “The initial hiccups like setting up the machines or having technical people to handle the same are being dealt with. Also, we have to ensure that the data is updated with the NREGA national website too, towards which we are working. But in 2010, we want to cover at least 50 per cent blocks of the state, if not all. Talks are on with banks and IT solution-providers,” says Principal Secretary, Rural Development, Shrikrishna.

If the tie-up with banks works out, a card holder can punch his details and the number of mandays against his bank account too.


The Indian Express, 4 January, 2009, http://www.indianexpress.com/news/wiping-flaws-by-swiping-a-smarter-nregs-ca/562998/
 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close