Backgrounder
It has been five years since the launch of
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) launch from Anantpur in Andhra Pradesh on February 2, 2006. The act has
been instrumental in raising
the productivity, increasing the purchasing power, reducing distress migration,
creating durable assets while ensuring livelihood opportunities for the needy
and poor in rural India.
The act is aimed at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural
areas by guaranteeing 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a
rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. These
works include water conservation, drought proofing, irrigation, land
development, rejuvenation of traditional water bodies, flood control and
drainage work, rural connectivity and work on the land of SC/ST/BPL/IAY
beneficiaries/land reform beneficiaries/ individual small and marginal farmers.
PERFORMANCE
1. Employment
provided to 4.1 crore households in 2010-11 up to
Dec.10.
2.
Women
constitute 47% while
Scheduled Castes account for 28 %, and Scheduled Tribes 24% of the workers
under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in 2010-11.
3.
Average Wages
per day under MGNREGA has gone up from Rs. 65 in 2006-07 to Rs. 100 in 2010-11.
4. Wage
rates enhanced by 17-30% by linkage with Consumer Price Index for Agricultural
labour calculated on the basis of Rs. 100 or the actual wage rate, whichever is
higher as on April 1,2009.
5.
Around 10 crore accounts of Mahatma Gandhi NREGA beneficiaries opened
in post offices/banks contributing to financial inclusion.
6. Allocation
of funds for 2010-11 raised to Rs. 40,100 crores.
7. Expenditure
on wages Rs. 74677 crores.
8.
Water
Conservation, irrigation and land development account for over 75 % of work taken up in 2010-11
9. Over 68 lakh works
taken up under MGNREGA
so far.
10. Social Audits conducted in 71% Panchayats.
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FEATURES
|
(FY
2006-07) 200 Districts
|
(FY
2007-08) 330 Districts
|
(FY
2008-09) 615 Districts
|
(FY
2009-10) 619 Districts
|
(FY
2010-11) 625 Districts
Till
Dec.,2010
|
|
Employment provided to
households:
|
2.10
Crore
|
3.39
Crore
|
4.51
Crore
|
5.26 Crore
|
4.10
crore
|
|
Persondays
|
|
|
Total: [in Rs. Lakhs]:
|
90.5
|
143.59
|
216.32
|
283.59
|
145
|
|
SCs : [in Percent]:
|
25%
|
27%
|
29%
|
[30%
|
24
%
|
|
STs:
|
36%
|
29%
|
25%
|
21%
|
28%
|
|
Women:
|
40%
|
43%
|
48%
|
48%
|
47%
|
|
Budget Outlay:
(In Rs Crore)
|
11300
|
12000
|
30000
|
39,100
|
40,100
|
|
Expenditure on wages (in
Percent)
|
66%
|
68%
|
67%
|
70%
|
71%
|
|
Average Wage per day (In Rs.)
|
Rs.
65
|
Rs.75
|
Rs.84
|
Rs.90
|
Rs.100
|
|
Total works taken up
(In Lakhs):
|
8.35
|
17.88
|
27.75
|
46.17
|
68.60
|
|
|
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INITIATIVES
& INNOVATIONS
1.Enhancement of MGNREGA wage rates by 17-30 % by linking
it with Consumer price index for agricultural labour calculated on the basis of Rs. 100 or the
actual wage rate, whichever is higher as on April 1st, 2009. The
new wage rates which come in to effect from January 1,2011
are higher than the prevailing wage rates under MGNREGA at present in many
states.
2.Wage disbursement to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers through Banks/Post Office accounts has been made mandatory. Around 9.38 bank/post
office accounts have been opened so far.
3. On
line Monitoring : Job cards, muster rolls, wage payments, number of
days of employment provided and works under execution have been put up on the
website www.nrega.nic.in
for monitoring and easy public access for information.
4. District Level Ombudsman : Set up to receive
complaints from Mahatma Gandhi NREGA workers and others on any matters,
consider such complaints and facilitate their disposal in accordance with law.
5.Social Audits made mandatory: Gram Panchayats
have been asked to organize Social Audits once in every six months. Reports
on Social Audits uploaded on the MGNREGA website. 73 % Gram Panchayats
have reported to have undertaken Social Audits in 2010-11 so far.
6.National Level Monitors (NLMs)Visit: 37 National
level Monitor were deputed in 37 districts in 15 states for special monitoring
of the program.
7.Eminent
Citizen Monitors : 61 Eminent
Citizens have been have been identified so far as per the Guidelines
of the Scheme for independent
monitoring. It is proposed to set up a group of 100 Eminent Citizen
Monitors to Report on the progress of the scheme.
8.Vigilance and Monitoring committees (V&MCs) at
State and District level : Re constituted for effective monitoring of the
implementation of the program.
9.National Helpline for receipt of complaints : Toll
free National Helpline 1800110707
set up for the protection of workers entitlements and rights under the
Act. This is being CT enabled and linked with the State and District Level Helplines.
10.State Helplines: Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya,
Orissa, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West
Bengal, Goa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands etc. have set up state level helplines.
11.Partnership with Unique Identification Development
Authority of India (UIDA): Mahatma Gandhi NREGA is collaborating with UIDA. By creating a unique
identity of the individual the process would eliminate duplicate job cards,
ghost beneficiaries while facilitating easy bank account opening, tracking the
mobility of beneficiaries
and ensuring a better monitoring of the system.
12.Construction of Bharat Nirman
Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendra/ Gram Panchayat Bhawans
at the Gram Panchayat or block level: Included
as a permissible activity under the act. Use of administrative head of 6% under
the Scheme has been permitted for provision of latest ICT facilities in Gram Panchayats (BNRGSK) within the permissible norms of the
State Govt. subject to due procedures.
13.Enlarging the
scope of works permitted : Works related to provision of irrigation facility, horticulture plantation and land
development facilities on the private land owned by SCs and STs or below
poverty line families (BPL)has been permitted under the act. Gram Panchayats while approving work plans have been asked to
ensure that works on lands of SC / ST and BPL receive first priority.
14.Work
under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in Naxal affected states :
Union Government has issued instructions to all naxal affected States (Andhra
Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa
and Uttar Pradesh) to intensify awareness generation campaign among rural
households, issuance of job cards, implementing sufficient number of works and
timely payment of wages.
15.Convergence
: Guidelines have been developed
for convergence of the Mahatma Gandhi NREGS with different Schemes
and specific programs. 150 convergence pilot projects have been instituted in
23 states under the monitoring of National Institute of Rural Development.
16.Business Correspondent Model : Adopted in Rajasthan with the help of Central Bank of
India to ensure timely payment of wages to the workers.
17.Strengthening Monitoring Mechanisms: A Professional
Institutional Network (PIN) has been constituted , including IITs, IIMs, ASCI,
IIPA, IIFM ,agriculture universities and other professional institutions, for
lending support to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA to conduct impact assessment and concurrent
monitoring and appraisal.
18.Management
and Administrative support for social audit, grievance redressal
and ICT infrastructure has been strengthened.
Over the years the experience has shown that the poorest of the poor and
the most vulnerable groups have sought employment under the program. Focus now is on transparency and
accountability with social audits, Biometric enabled-ICT based MGNREGA process
for safeguarding the worker’s rights, enhanced productivity and sustainable
development. Strengthening Of Gram Panchayats
and empowering the workers are among the key areas where the emphasis would be
in the years to come making it an effective instrument of inclusive growth and
development.
*****
AKT/ST/BS