A recent advertisement by the Bihar government to hand over the implementation of MGNREGA to non-government organisations has attracted the state’s attention. About four months ago, the state was asked by the Centre to withdraw a similar move. The state officials are now studying the tender document made public by the Bihar government for MNREGA and Indira Awas Yojana to counter the objections of the Union Ministry of Rural Development. The ministry...

This article documents and then examines the various benefits that, it is claimed, will flow from linking the Unique Identity number with the public distribution system and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. It filters the unfounded claims, which arise from a poor understanding of how the PDS and NREGS function, from the genuine ones. On the latter, there are several demanding conditions that need to be met in order...

The Centre will give CAG a place in social Audit of rural job scheme and direct the states to set up directorates to train Auditors from civil society. A nominee of CAG would be present in social Audits that gram sabhas would conduct twice a year. CAG would also do an annual Audit as part of its mandate. Coupled with the rigour of CAG's accounting, the exercise would also bring in...

Barely a month after Sonia Gandhi flagged concerns over shortcomings in the implementation of UPA’s flagship MNREGA scheme and sought strengthening of social Audit done by the gram sabha, as mandated under the Act, the government is looking at the scope of amending the Act to allow for better accounting scrutiny by the Central agencies. A meeting convened by Law Minister Veerappa Moily with Rural Development Ministry officials Monday examined...

The Union Government’s belated decision to establish an Audit mechanism for projects undertaken under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has been motivated by a number of complaints regarding irregularities in the implementation of the programme. The Government should have taken the step much earlier, in fact soon after the scheme was introduced with much fanfare as the ruling United Progressive Alliance’s flagship social sector project. But at...