NREGA Report

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)
Some Reports from the Field
Ministry of Rural Development Department of Rural Development Government of India New Delhi
CONTENTS
Message Common Minimum Programme of the UPA Government 1. National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2. Outcomes 3. Supplementing Income 4. Arresting Migration 5. Creating Community Assets Annexures Districts Under NREGA Phase I & II NREGA Implementation Status Report for the financial year 2007-08 (Till 12th Oct, 2007)
i ii 1-15 16-22 23-26 27-29 30-40 42-49
The UPA government will immediately enact a National Employment Guarantee Act. This will provide legal guarantee of at least 100 days of employment to begin with on asset-creating public works programmes every year at minimum wages for at least one-able bodied person in every rural, urban poor and lower middle class house-hold.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.
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In a rural agrarian labour surplus economy, sections of rural population depend on the wages they earn through unskilled, casual, manual labour. They are vulnerable to the possibility of sinking from transient to chronic poverty in the event of inadequate labour demand or in the face of unpredictable crises that may be general in nature, like natural disasters or personal, like ill-health, all of which adversely impact their employment opportunities. In a context of poverty and unemployment, workfare programmes have been important programme interventions in developed as well as developing countries for many years. These programmes typically provide unskilled manual workers with short-term employment on public works such as irrigation infrastructure, afforestation, soil conservation and road construction. The rationale for workfare programmes rests on some basic considerations. The programmes provide income transfers to poor households during critical times and therefore enable consumption smoothing specially during slack agricultural seasons or years. In countries with high unemployment rates, transfer benefits from workfare programmes can prevent poverty from worsening, especially during lean periods. Durable assets that these programmes may create have the potential to generate a second-round of employment benefits as necessary infrastructure is developed.
The need to evolve a mechanism to supplement existing livelihood sources in rural areas was recognized early during Development Planning in India. The Government implemented workfare programmes that offered wage employment on public works on minimum wages. The wage employment programmes 1
started as pilot projects in the form of Rural Manpower (RMP) [1960-61], Crash Scheme for Rural employment (CRSE) [1971-72], Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Programme (PIREP) [1972], Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA), Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labour Scheme (MFAL) to the poorest of the poor. These experiments were translated into a full-fledged wage-employment programme in 1977 in the form of Food for Work Programme (FWP). In the 1980s this programme was further streamlined into the National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) and Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP). Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY1993-94) Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS), Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS). The Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) was merged with JGSY from 1999-2000 and was made a rural infrastructure programme. The programme was merged with the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana from 2001-02, Sampoorna Grameen Rozgaar Yojana (SGRY, 2001) and National Food for Work (NFFWP, 2005) These wage-employment programmes implemented by State Governments with Central assistance were self-targeting, and the objective was to provide enhanced livelihood security, specially of those dependent on casual manual labour. At the State Level, the Govt. of Maharashtra formulated the Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme and Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act,1977 to provide wage- employment to those who demanded it.
Giving a statutory framework to wageSignificant Increase in Persondays Generated employment programmesBased on the Persondays Generated, NREGA: 90.5 crores in 200 experience of these programmes, the National districts in less than one full working season Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) was Persondays Generated, SGRY: 82.18 crores in 586 enacted to reinforce the commitment towards districts in 2005-2006. livelihood security in rural areas. The Act was The first objective of augmenting employment notified on 7th September, 2005. The generation through NREGA as compared to earlier wage significance of NREGA lies in the fact that it employment programmes met creates a right- based framework for wage employment programmes and makes the Government legally accountable for providing employment to those who ask for it. In this way, the legislation goes beyond providing a social safety net towards guaranteeing the right to employment.
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) aims at enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas by guaranteeing hundred days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. The objective of the Act is to create durable assets and strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor. The choice of works suggested in the Act addresses causes of chronic poverty like drought, deforestation and soil erosion, so that the process of employment generation is maintained on a sustainable basis
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
The Act is applicable to areas notified by the Central Government and will cover the whole country within five years. In its first phase, it was notified in 200 districts across the country. In the second phase the Act has been notified in the financial year 2007-8 in an additional 130 districts, bringing the total of number of districts covered by NREGA to 330. In these districts, pre-existing wageemployment programmes, the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) and the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) were merged with NREGA. The remaining 266 districts have been notified on 28th September, 2007 where NREGA will come into force w.e.f. 1st April, 2008. Thus fulfilling the statuary commitment of the present government.
The salient features of the Act are summarized below: a) Adult members of a rural household may apply for employment if they are willing to do unskilled manual work. b) Such a household will have to apply for registration to the local Gram Panchayat in writing or orally. c) The Gram Panchayat, after due verification, will issue a Job Card to the household as a whole. The Job Card will bear the photograph of all adult members of the household willing to work under NREGA. The Job Card with photograph is free of cost. d) A Job Card-holding household may submit a written application for employment to the Gram Panchayat, stating the time and duration when work is sought. The minimum days of employment have to be fifteen. e) The Gram Panchayat will issue a dated receipt of the written application for employment, against which the fifteen-day guarantee to provide employment operates. f) Employment will be given within 15 days of application for work by an employment seeker. g) If employment is not provided within 15 days, daily unemployment allowance in cash has to be paid. Liability of payment of Unemployment Allowance is on the States. h) At least one-third of persons to whom work is allotted have to be women. i) Wages are to be paid according to minimum wages as prescribed under the Minimum Wages Act 1948 for agricultural labourers in the State, unless the Centre notifies a wage rate which will not be less than Rs 60 per day. j) Disbursement of wages has to be done on a weekly basis and not beyond a fortnight. k) Panchayat Raj Institutions [PRIs] have a principal role in planning and implementation.
l) Each district has to prepare a shelf of Projects. The instrument for providing employment are to be works selected from the list of permissible works. Permissible works are as follows: Water Conservation Drought Proofing (including plantation and afforestation) Flood Protection Land Development Minor Irrigation, horticulture and land development on lands of SC/ST/ -BPL/IAY and Land Reform beneficiaries Rural connectivity The shelf of projects has to be prepared on the basis of priority assigned by the Gram Sabha. At least 50% of works have to be allotted to Gram Panchayats for execution. A 60:40 ratio of wages and materials has to be maintained. Contractors and use of labour-displacing machinery is prohibited. m) Work should ordinarily be provided within a 5 km radius of the village or else extra wages of 10% are payable. n) Work-site facilities such as crche, drinking water, shade have to be provided. o) Social Audit has to be done by the Gram Sabha. p) Grievance redressal mechanisms have to be put in place for ensuring a responsive implementation process. q) All accounts and records relating to the Scheme are to be made available to any person desirous of obtaining a copy of such records on demand and after paying a specified fee.
Paradigm Shift in NREGA

NREGA marks a paradigm shift from the previous Wage Employment Programmes (WEPs). NREGA provides a statutory guarantee of wage employment and is not just a programme. The most important shift is providing a statutory base to wage seekers application for employment. Employment is dependent upon the worker exercising the choice to apply for registration and obtain a Job Card and then to exercise a choice to seek employment through a written application for the time and duration that the worker wants. The Legal Guarantee has to be fulfilled within the time limit prescribed and this mandate is underpinned by the provision of the Unemployment Allowance. The Act is thus designed to offer an incentive structure to the States for providing employment as ninety percent of the cost for employment provided is borne by the Centre, and there is a concomitant disincentive for not providing employment if demanded as the States then bear the double indemnity of unemployment and the cost of the Unemployment Allowance. Earlier wage-employment programmes were allocation-based. NREGA is not supply driven but demand driven. Resource transfer under NREGA is based on the demand for employment and this provides another critical incentive to States to leverage the Act to meet the employment needs of the poor. The public delivery system has been made accountable as it envisages an Annual Report on the outcomes of NREGA to be presented by the Central Government to the Parliament and to the Legislature by the state government.
The Central Government bears the costs on the following items The entire cost of wages of unskilled manual workers. Seventy five percent of the cost of material of wages of skilled and semi-skilled workers. Administrative expenses as may be determined by the central government, which will include inter alia, the salary and the allowances of the Programme Officer and his supporting staff and work-site facilities. Expenses of the National Employment Guarantee Council. The state governments bear the costs on the following items: Twenty five percent of the cost of material and wages of skilled and semi-skilled workers. Unemployment Allowance payable in case the state government cannot provide wageemployment on time. Administrative expenses of the State Employment Guarantee Council.
The key Initiatives in process so that NREGA may optimally realise its full potential are briefly highlighted here:
i) Enabling Articulation of Demand for Employment.

Since NREGA is a Rights-based programme, articulation of demand by the rural poor is the basic premise of its operation. The demand process of NREGA distinguishes it from other wage-employment programmes and also constitutes its biggest challenge, especially if wage seekers are not literate and not organised. Generating awareness among local rural communities through Information, Education and Communication (IEC) becomes critical for enabling the rural poor to articulate demand. States have forged a variety of methods for communication and social mobilisation that include preparation of communication material on NREGA processes in simple local language, one day orientations of Sarpanchs/ Ward Members, convening Gram Sabhas, using district teams for village level interactions, local vernacular newspapers, TV and radio spots, pamphlets and brochures and local cultural forms. Innovative methods like Information counters on local market days, Village Information Walls, fixing a Rozgar Day in the week and establishing a Helpline have also been used.
ii) Planning for Works and the Quality of Assets Created

The Act guarantees providing employment within fifteen days of demand and the instrument for providing employment is unskilled manual work selected from the list of permissible works. This legal guarantee has implication for the way in which works have to be planned. A Labour Budget has been stipulated under the Act as an instrument to facilitate advance planning, whereby districts estimate their labour demand for the ensuing financial year by December end. Districts prepare shelves of projects to keep a list of works ready to meet employment demand.
The National Rural Employment Act
iii) Record of Work Done and Payment of Wages

The legal guarantee of the Act mandates that wages due to workers be paid within fifteen days of work completion. This requires that a fair record be maintained for the work done. Key factors involved in ensuring this are ( a) proper maintenance of muster rolls (b) timely measurement and record in the measurement books (c) realistic formulation and notification of schedule of rates.
Wages: 66.2% (5842.36 Crore)
a) Maintenance of authentic muster rolls To ensure authentic muster rolls are used, numbered muster rolls are to be issued for each sanctioned work by Programme Officer and maintained on the work site by the executing agency. Muster rolls must mention Job Card numbers of workers, days worked, quantum of work done, the amount paid and must have space for recording inspections. Muster rolls are to be read out on the work-site during measurement and wage payment to prevent bogus records. Entries in the muster roll has to be correspondingly recorded in the Job Cards of the workers. Updating of muster roll data at the block level computers in a 15 days cycle needs to be ensured. All muster rolls are to be made available for public scrutiny on the NREGA website. b) Measurement and supervision of work done Regular measurement and supervision of works has to be done by qualified technical personnel on time. Measurement needs to be recorded in authenticated measurement books and measurement details need to be read out to workers. c) Schedule of Rates The Act stipulates that a worker working seven hours should normally earn an amount equal to the wage rate. The Act directs that task rates should be fixed so that this objective is fulfilled. The Schedule of Rates needs to be reviewed on the basis of Work-Time-Motion-Studies and be made transparent so that workers know the rates payable for a specific quantum of work.
iv) Vigilance and Transparency

Since the Act seeks to establish a rights-based framework for wage employment, it places a strong emphasis on vigilance and transparency. Key strategies in this direction include: a) MIS: A web-enabled MIS www.nrega.nic.in has been developed that seeks to place all information in the public domain. It is a household level data base and has internal checks for ensuring consistency and conformity to normative processes. All critical parameters get monitored in public the domain: a) workers entitlement data and documents such as registration, Job Cards, muster rolls (b) work selection and execution data including shelf of approved and sanctioned works, work estimates, works 6
under execution, measurement (c) employment demanded and provided (d) Financial indicators such as funds available, funds used, and the disaggregated structure of fund utilisation to assess the amount paid as wages, materials and administrative expenses. Since the MIS places all critical data on the web and this data is software engineered, it has significant advantages in terms of transparency as it allows cross verification of records and generation of reports on any parameter of the Act. The aim is to ensure connectivity at the block level on priority and wherever possible, at the Gram Panchayat level A Geographic Information System is also being planned for NREGS.
Citizen can check online

Registration details Job card issued details Muster Roll issued Employment Details Works Status Work Completed and Assets created Technical Estimate b) Monitoring and Evaluation: Field verification of NREGS processes is through external and internal agencies and the feedback is shared with the States for follow up. National Level Monitors have visited all Phase One NREGA districts. Independent concurrent studies have also been taken up. States are expected to ensure 100% verification at block, 10 % at district and 2% at the state level 7
especially of Work, Muster rolls, and Records. Setting up and training local vigilance and monitoring committees has also been emphasised for bringing in lateral transparency.
NREGA Work Report, AID-India, April 30, 2007, Gosani Block of Gajapati District, Orissa Prof. Dhanada Mishra of AID-Orissa reports the success of street plays jobs are being given to applicants. In Gandahati Panchayat the NREGA works have started at Adagawan,Gandahati, S.Laupur villages, which has employed a large number of job seekers who applied. The Street Theater made an impact on the villagers and they started asking work at the panchayat office in Gandahati Panchayat.
v) Public Accountability
While placing data in the public domain, monitoring and evaluation create systems of accountability, the Act contains specific provisions for public accountability. Based on the statutory directives, a three-pronged strategy for public accountability has been adopted:
a) Proactive Disclosure: Annual Reports on outcomes to the Parliament and the state legislature are mandated. Annual Report for the year 2005 -2006 has been tabled in Parliament. In addition, the Minister for Rural Development has tabled a statement on NREGA in every session, since the passage of the Act. b) Information upon Payment (RTI): Documents have to be made available to the public on payment of a prescribed fee. This is stipulated in NREGA, Schedule I, Para 17, 18. c) Social Audit: Section 17 of NREGA provides for social audit of all works in a Gram Panchayat by the Gram Sabha and the Gram Panchayat has to provide records for social Social Audit is a compulsory element in NREGA. Social audit processes can be divided into pre social audit processes, processes during social audit and follow-up processes after social audit. Pre Social Audit Processes include: Planning and preparation of a social audit calendar Gram Panchayat wise. Wide communication of the intent and date of social audit to all key stakeholders: Government functionaries, PRIs, local community Constitution of Resource Groups - At the State, District, Block and Village levels with officials and non-officials. Involvement of civil society in the social audit process. Preparation, printing and distribution of social audit kits Training of the Resource Groups in each level.
The Hindu 10.9.006 Rural Job scheme satisfactory : NGOS ANANTAPUR( AP) The non-governmental organisations which have participated in the social audit of NREGS in the district have felt that the implementation of the scheme has been by-and-large satisfactory. Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan, working in Rajasthan, termed the social audit of NREGS an extraordinary exercise.
Processes During Social Audit Village Social Auditors to inform the Gram Panchyat of their intent to do social audit. All records made available to village social auditors. Verification of records by cross checking with beneficiaries, and works ( if in progress) . Mandatory verification of application and job cards issued, demand and allocation of employment within the given time, muster rolls, work estimates, sanctions and expenditures, measurement books and payments, cross verification with jobcards. These verifications are made either through door to door visits or through informal gram sabhas. Public Meeting (Gram Sabha) at the Gram Sabha where village social auditors read and discuss their findings. Concerned beneficiaries can give evidence. Concerned functionaries will explain if irregularities are noticed. Report of the social audit to be prepared and submitted to the Gram Panchyat, Programme Officer and District Programme Coordinator. Follow up processes on Social Audit District Programme Coordinators to discuss findings with Programme Officer and initiate remedial action. Where there are serious prima facie matters of financial irregularities, further departmental enquiry to be initiated Findings of social audit with follow up action to be made public and will be placed on the website. Prototype Works Manual for Sustainable Development One of the major challenges for NREGA is to ensure that workers get just wages for work done. Everything hinges on the methodology used for measuring output within a 7 hour period. Traditionally there are standard schedule of rates prepared by engineers using norms which are not pro-labour. To address the issue of measurement of work and payment of wages, consultations were organized with Government of India officials and experts. Following these consultations, two organizations Samaj Pragati Sahyog (SPS) and PRADAN were commissioned to develop two "works manuals" on the themes of watersheds and integrated natural resource management respectively. The manual on INRM developed by PRADAN explains in great details the potential for INRM activities to be integrated under NREGA. Similarly, the manual on watersheds developed by Samaj Pragati Sahyog (SPS) outlines with diagrams and detailed explanations the technical methods for watershed development. In essence, the manuals which have been developed in English and Hindi, de-mystify the whole process of calculation and provide a productivity norm which accounts for regional variations, geological strata, climatic conditions, gender and age differences in productivity. As a follow up of the preparation of these manuals, training films are also being developed by SPS and PRADAN to help to train local bodies and NGOs in different parts of the country to de-mystify engineering norms so that there is public awareness of how work is to be measured and wages are to be paid.
THE HINDU, Thursday, May 11, 2006
Employment guarantee signs of transformation

Nirmala Lakshman A substantial social audit reveals that in the harsh terrain of Dungarpur, Rajasthan, where daily living poses a constant challenge, employment on public works has risen to unprecedented levels over the last two months. A quiet revolution appears to be taking place in many impoverished rural districts across the country. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which came into force on February 2, is having a perceptible impact on these districts. In Dungarpur in Rajasthan, one of the six districts in the State chosen for the first phase of the NREGA implementation, a substantial social audit revealed that in this harsh terrain, where daily living poses a constant challenge, employment on public works has risen to unprecedented levels over the last two months. About half of all families in rural Dungarpur now have one household member employed under the NREGA. The social audit, which took place at the end of April, involved around 600 participants from 11 States. The Astha Sansthan and Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) helped in the implementation of the social audit. The audit participants organised themselves into groups of padyatris, and in a ten-day march, these groups spread awareness about the NREGA and compiled reports on implementation of the NREGA across the district. They also verified the extent to which the entitlements promised by the legislation had reached the people. The NREGA is the first step towards realising the right to work, which is included in the Constitution as one of the Directive Principles. It says, The State shall in particular direct its policy towards securing ... that the citizens, men and women equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood. The NREGA essentially addresses urgent and immediate issues of hunger and deprivation, since it is this lack of livelihood, lack of food security, and endemic poverty that sends rural households into the downward spiral of destitution. In the context of acute distress and deprivation in many parts of the country, the new law impels the state to take clear responsibility for providing a social safety net for every poor rural household. However, as economist and social activist Jean Dreze says, legislation alone will not guarantee employment, continuous mobilisation is required. The law is being implemented in 200 of the poorest districts in this initial phase and is expected to cover the entire country within five years. All rural households are eligible to register for work and the gram panchayat must issue a `job card that will be valid for five years. The card records the number of days worked, wages paid, unemployment benefits received and other particulars and is a tool to prevent corruption. The job must be within a five-kilometre distance of the applicants home. Beneficiaries are entitled to the statutory minimum wage applicable in each State and an unemployment allowance must be paid if employment is not provided within 15 days of the receipt of the application for work. The employment guarantee is limited to 100 days of work per household a year. During the social audit exercise in Dungarpur district, the padyatris found that in almost every village, people were aware of their entitlement to 100 days of work a year although many were not aware of the specific details of the entitlement. The marchers were given a village questionnaire, a worksite questionnaire, and a panchayat questionnaire to collect information. At the end of the march, a panel discussion was held with academics, senior bureaucrats from other States as well as the Collector of Dungarpur, Manju Rajpal. Coordinated by social activist Aruna Roy of the MKSS, the panel raised a host of issues that reflected not only the challenges in making such a far-reaching piece of legislation a reality, but also the positive effects of having such a system in place. While there will obviously be a great deal of variability in NREGA implementation across States and across regions, the Dungarpur experience shows that despite some problems, there is a significant leap forward in employment, and the local administration is giving the issue highest priority, according to Jean Dreze. The social audit found that all the work was organised by gram sabhas, and the sense of legal entitlement shored up by the significant impact of the Right to Information Act in Rajasthan has led to a culture of transparency and accountability in this district. For example, muster rolls were found at almost every worksite without any evidence of having been tampered with. Another positive outcome is that close to 80 per cent of the labourers in this area were women (as the men would typically migrate for work), and therefore the NREGA is making an impact on the earning capacities of women as well, which will positively affect gender equations in the community. Social activist Sowmya Sivakumar said that womens work, which is undervalued,
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will now be assessed differently and lead to their empowerment. She also noted that there was a demand for some payment in grain rather than cash by many women in the district. The audit found that working women faced several problems. For instance, worksite facilities were almost non-existent. There was no medical or child care and in most cases mothers had to keep young infants in the open in the blistering heat, or leave them at home, often in the care of older children or other family members. As Aruna Roy pointed out, the lack of crche facilities (required by the new law) meant that many mothers could not feed their children for up to eight hours in a day and this in turn would adversely affect their childrens nutrition. Siddharth of the National Law School, Jodhpur, who along with Jean Dreze bicycled through several panchayats assessing the ground situation, said that some mothers who were breast feeding their children had to keep going back to their homes in the middle of their work day to feed their children, causing them great hardship. The social audit revealed that there were problems with regard to the measurement of work as well as the wages paid. Many workers expressed the view that the quantum of work that was required from an individual worker was excessive. There was no consideration of variations in the soil or the conditions of lift and lead that have a bearing on individual work output. Most people ended up being paid only between Rs.40 and 60 a day (as opposed to the Rajasthan minimum daily wage of Rs.73). Social activist Nikhil Dey of the MKSS said most tasks were too difficult to complete. In a recent article in The Hindu , Mihir Shah says that with regard to measuring labour, there appears to be a genuine difficulty, a deep contradiction at the heart of NREG implementation. The `Schedule of Rates by which work done is valued needs reform to bring it in line with legal entitlements under the NREGA. Shah also rightly points out that average rates do not give room for differences in soil, gender, age, and other factors that have a bearing on productivity. In Dungarpur, this aspect was also stressed by K. Raju, Principal Secretary Government of Andhra Pradesh, who said there was a need to quantify actual productivity in every district through work-time-motion studies, and for tasks to be fixed according to soil conditions so that every worker can earn the minimum wage in seven hours. Interestingly, it is reported that Andhra Pradesh has recently revised the schedule of rates on such task-related norms. Apart from this, there were other problems that the Dungarpur social audit revealed, such as the lack of adequate administrative staff, which affected the NREGA implementation. An observer from Andhra Pradesh also reported that there was no work available in some villages and the people had to travel to neighbouring villages to find it. However, Jean Dreze says, With the activation of the administrative machinery, employment is being generated on an unprecedented scale. This has never happened before, outside periods of severe drought (and) further employment opportunities are likely to be created through `multiplier effects, as NREGA wages represent a big injection of purchasing power in this district, where non-agricultural economic activities are few and far between. The NREGA also represents an opportunity for asset creation, according to academic and social activist Reetika Khera. Unless work was seen as being productive by the villagers themselves, it would not be useful. Creating water harvesting facilities and making roads and bunds would enhance the economic productivity of the region. Reetika Khera points out, the usefulness of works undertaken through the NREGA can be enhanced considerably if shelf of works are evolved with greater public participation. Man Singh of the Wagad Mazdoor Kisan Sangathan stressed the primacy of water harvesting projects and recommended that the work under NREGA should ultimately enhance all land and not just public land. Raja Kutty, Director of the National Institute of Rural Development, said that while the social audit revealed many positive trends, several administrative and policy issues remain that have to be squarely dealt with. In the context of a fairly responsive and sensitive local government in Dungarpur, these issues could be raised and corrective measures could be evolved because of continuous monitoring. As Nikhil Dey emphasised, the gram sabhas should monitor work under NREGA every six months and take up the responsibility of examining records, checking muster rolls, looking at expenditure, and assessing work site situations. Whatever the problems, the experience of Dungarpur can be replicated across the country if there is a strong commitment from various stakeholders involved in rural governance. The Dungarpur social audit clearly demonstrates that with public monitoring, transparency of administrative functioning, and an empowered population, not only is corruption minimised, but development that transforms the lives of the poor is an attainable reality.
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audit. Social Audit processes have been initiated by states, with support from the Ministry for capacity building that include resource support for planning and training. A significant feature here is the active role played by civil society organisations in facilitating social audit processes in partnership with State Governments as well as independently.
vi) Grievance Redressal

Enforcement of the right to employment requires setting up an effective grievance redressal system. The Act vests the responsibility for grievance redressal with the Programme Officer. Efforts are on to strengthen grievance redressal mechanisms at all levels
vii) Strengthening Management Support to NREGA

a) Central Employment Guarantee Council: At the State level: 4% of the total cost to be used administrative cost enabling resource support for: Deploying additional personnel critical to implementation, viz. the Gram Rozgar Sewak at the GP level and Programme Officer, engineers, IT and accounts personnel at the Block Level.
InfoChange News & Features, October 2006
Guarantee against hunger?

By Tanushree Sood If effectively implemented, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act will go a long way towards ensuring food security and protecting rural households from hunger Work is not just about earning a wage. It brings with it a way of living, a sense of security and dignity. The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which was passed by parliament on August 24, 2005, is an important step towards the realisation of the right to work in India. The Act reinforces the duty of the State to provide employment to its citizens. The NREGAs legal guarantee of 100 days of work at the state minimum wage promises substantial relief to rural households. The Act will go a long way towards ensuring food security and protecting rural households from hunger. India has a history of employment-generation schemes starting from famine relief works, the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana and more recently the National Food for Work Programme. But these schemes were largely left to the discretion of the administrative machinery. With the NREGA, work becomes a right. Such a guarantee of employment would, to some extent, act as a shield for the rural poor and the landless, saving them from the exploitative rich agricultural class. The NREGA and food security are significantly interlinked. The Act will give a necessary push to the purchasing power of the rural poor. An additional income of approximately Rs 6,000 a year for each participating household is estimated to be sufficient to pull a large section of families above the poverty line. Women usually are a major proportion of the workforce employed at NREGA work sites. The Act will provide some economic independence to women. Dungarpur district in Rajasthan is an example. Estimates suggest that about 90% of the 1.60 lakh workers employed in April 2006 in this area were women. Reports from other states also show high rates of participation of women at the work sites. Various workers organisations are asking for part payment of wages in kind. With such an amendment, the link between the Act and food security will be enhanced. In rural areas, the poor are often compelled to work under hazardous conditions of drudgery and physical strain. The NREGA includes an element of basic facilities and dignity. Payment of wages within 15 days after completion of work, provision of drinking water and shaded areas at worksites are small steps to make the work less tiring. The demand for functional crches at the work sites is also becoming stronger.
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At the level of the Ministry: Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) has been set up and has met twice. CEGC members are actively involved in field visits, social audit along with the State Government/District officials Executive Committee has been set up. The Technical Secretariat is being set up to infuse multi-disciplinary professional expertise for technical resource support. Design, Information and National Data System, Social audit, Monitoring and Evaluation. b) Deployment of additional dedicated personnel for NREGA: Learning from the implementation of earlier wage employment programmes, the Central Government has initiated steps to support the management and implementation of NREGS. Under the Act, the Central Government may provide assistance for administrative expenses up to a limit as fixed by the Centre. The Ministry has permitted 4% of the total cost to be made as administrative cost, enabling resource support for deploying additional personnel critical to implementation, viz. the Gram Rozgar Sewak at the GP level and Programme Officer, engineers, IT and accounts personnel at the Block Level.
The Act is likely to make a dent in migration. Migration for work, both within and between states, is common in the countryside and the cities. When work is made available in the villages, many rural families are likely to stay back instead of going to the cities in the slack season. Noted activist Aruna Roy spoke about this aspect at a recent social audit in Dungarpur district. Another impact of the Act is a possible increase in the bargaining power of migrant labourers in states like Gujarat and Maharashtra. With the option of going back home, the workers will be able to ask for higher wages. However, migration will decrease only if work opportunities under the NREGA are relatively predictable as they would be if the principle of demand-driven employment actually works. Only if the workers are confident that work will be available, are they likely to reconsider migration. The Act gives power and responsibility to the panchayat institutions. The gram sabha and the gram panchayat are two key implementing agencies in the Act. The Act authorises the gram sabha to recommend works to be taken up, to monitor and supervise these works, and to conduct social audits of the implementation. The panchayats are responsible for planning the works, executing 50% of the works, registering households and issuing job cards. The NREGA is not just about creating employment, but also about developing the social infrastructure. The assets created under the Act will be a step towards growth through higher investment in rural infrastructure. The potential for labour-intensive public works in the field of environmental protection is massive; this includes areas such as watershed development, land regeneration, prevention of soil erosion, restoration of tanks, protection of forests and related activities. Expenditure on the NREGAs schemes will yield dividends not only in terms of economic activity in the present but also by improving the conditions of production in rural areas in the future. Needless to say, the implementation of the NREGA is critical. A strategy of spreading awareness and continuous pressure by workers organisations, communitybased organisations and NGOs, is important. The NREGA will then be an effective instrument for reducing poverty and achieving food security. (Tanushree Sood is a Research Associate with the Office of the Commissioners to the Supreme Court. The views in this article are her own and not of the Office of the Commissioners or of the Right to Food Campaign.)
13
c) Training: Another issue critical to strengthening administrative systems pertains to training of different stakeholders. The requirements of training are considerable at all levels and include functionaries, PRIs, and the local vigilance committees.
Training of Stakeholders
200000 180000 160000 140000 120000 100000 80000 60000 40000 20000 0
viii) Financial Management

Under NREGA, financial resources are released on the basis of demand for employment received in a district.
PRI functionaries
Administrative & Technical officials Trained Number
VMC members
A non-lapsable Central Employment Guarantee Fund has been set up to ensure availability of funds to match working season demands. Labour Budgets are being prepared by Districts to project annual fund requirements based on estimation of labour demand and works proposed to meet it. Fund releases based on appraisal of both financial and physical indicators of outcomes as: person days generated wage material ratio average work cost and wage paid
a) Empowering workers:
NREGA is a rights-based statute and its effectiveness lies eventually in the extent to which wage seekers can exercise their choice and assert their rights to claim entitlements under the Act. While the state is expected to play a pro-active role in communicating information and facilitating access to the employment opportunities under NREGA, in the long run, workers capacity to demand and negotiate employment is critical if the Act has to be an instrument in the hands of the worker for enhancing his/her levels of employment and earnings. The issues involved in empowering workers are in the range of enhancement of knowledge levels, development of literacy skills and organizing workers. Enhancing social security levels of workers also needs to be considered. Opening savings accounts of workers in banks and post offices that have been initiated need to be supported on a larger scale so that thrift and small savings can be encouraged among workers engaged in casual labour. Including NREGA workers under the cover of various life and health insurance schemes will also raise their security thresholds. 14
b) Linkages with other Development Programmes:

Empowerment of workers and creation of durable assets depend, in terms of their strategies, to a great extent on the linkages between NREGA and other development programmes. Linkages with human development programmes such as the National Rural Health Mission and the National Literacy Mission are needed to ensure basic human entitlements to workers that in turn will enhance their capacity to negotiate their rights under the Act. Linkages with other livelihood and infrastructure initiatives need to be considered for sustainable employment. The thrust of NREGA is on strengthening the natural resource base of livelihood. The full potential of the kind of work permissible under NREGA can be tapped if planning for these works is coordinated with other development projects, for example watershed management, agricultural programmes, horticultural projects. Initiatives for natural resource management also need to be dovetailed with income generation projects to enable workers to move from wage employment to self-sustaining employment.
15
Employment Demanded Employment Provided Persondays Generated SC ST Women Others Works Taken Up Use of Financial Resources
2.12 Crore Households 2.10 Crore Households 90.5 Crore 22.95 [25.35%] 32.98 [36.44%] 36.79 [40.65%] 34.56 [38.18%] 8.35 Lakhs Rs. 8823.35 Crore (73% of Available Funds)
Demand for Employment Met

3500000 3000000 2500000 2000000 1500000 1000000 500000
Employment Demanded: 2.12 crore HHs Employment Provided:2.10 crore HHs
Jharkhand
Nagaland
TN
Chhattisgarh
Uttaranchal
Rajasthan
Assam
Mizoram
Sikkim
Ar. P
Karanataka
Orissa
Haryana
Maharashtra
Meghalaya
Gujarat
Employment Demanded (Mar, 2007)
Employment Provided (Mar, 2007)
16
Manipur
Tripura
Kerala
Punjab
Bihar
J&K
WB
MP
HP
UP
AP
Initial Positive Trends

Field Reports yield nascent evidence of : a) Increase in Women workforce participation as compared to earlier Wage Employment Programme b) Impact on land productivity: (Second crop on SC/ST farms in Chattisgarh, MP, Rajasthan) c) Increase in the workforces awareness of minimum wages and task rates and increasingly confident articulation of it (MP, Chattisgarh, TN, Karnataka, Maharashtra) d) Wage earnings of workforce in wage employment programme increasing (AP,TN, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand) e) Wage negotiation capacity developing vis a vis private employment (Rajasthan, TN, Haryana) f) Financial Inclusion: Savings accounts of wage earners in Banks/Post Offices in some States: AP (more than 20.00 lakh Post Office Accounts), Karnataka (entire Gulbarga NREG workforce with Bank Accounts) , Jharkhand,TN g) Insurance of wage earners in some districts: Pakur, Gumla, Ranchi (Jharkhand) h) Developing Literacy skills among wage earners (Karnataka, Raichur) i) Distress Migration somewhat stemmed: Rajasthan, AP, Chattisgarh
Sultanpura is a drought prone district in Andhra Pradesh with very few employment opportunities. When NREGA was first announced in the village, people took time to be convinced of it. Applications were made in large numbers. Job Cards were made. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) were also involved. 1300 people were included in the SHG in the area. They were actively involved in several developmental programmes in the village. After receiving Job Cards, applications were given for work. In the Gram Sabha people put forth their demand for work. All the demands were submitted to the Panchyat Secretary, who in turn sent it to the Block Office for approval. The Block Office approved the works. One of the works approved was constraction of a checkdam to improve irrigation. The work was divided into groups. Each group did a different kind of work. A first aid kit was available at the worksite. There was creche facility for children. Muster Rolls were maintained. Yashoda, a labourer at the worksite was happy. Earlier she used to get Rs. 50. Now she gets Rs. 100. Even the physically handicapped were getting work. People were able to send their children to school. On Saturdays measurements are done to ascertain the amount of work. Demand drafts are sent to the Sultanpur post office and depodsited in the accounts of the workers who can withdraw the cash when needed. The people in Sultanpur now enthusiastically participate in NREGA and consider it as their programme.
People have gathered to get their weekly wages in front of the Gram Panchyat office. They have been working on a roads project in their village that has been initiated under NREGA. 17
Significant Increase in Person-days Generated

1 Person-days generated 2 SGRY in 586 districts (2005-06) 3 Average Person-days per year in 586 distts: (SGRY+ NFFWP) (2001-06) 83.3 0.142
Person-days in crores 4 NREGA in 200 districts (2006-07)
Total Average per District
82.18 0.14
90.5 0.45
At the Gram Panchyat office, a board displays their entitlements. Before the launch of the project there was mass mobilization carried out in each village by the district administration and the elected representatives. A Job Card was made for every family. But they were also told that mere possession of a Job Card does not entitle them to getting a job. They must also apply for a job. Once they apply they are given jobs of constructing water harvesting structures, rural link roads etc. near their homes. At the worksite, muster rolls are maintained according to Job Cards. It is difficult to forge these muster rolls. If Kaluram, who has done the work, sees that his name is not there on the card, he will raise his voice. But this is not enough. There are vigilance and monitoring groups who keep a tab on the muster rolls and they visit sites to cross check with the attendance and names. Sometimes people leave after half days work. This creates a problem then the persons wage is also deducted and he/she looses out one day of work. But this does not happen frequently. A mate is appointed by the GP for each project site who checks and re-checks the muster rolls. It is very difficult for the mate to favour his people because there are others who keep a watch and would immediately raise his/her voice. The most important work here is constructing water harvesting structures. During the rainy season, 90% of the water is wasted. Water harvesting structures would help conserve this water and also recharge the water table. This in turn, would help irrigation and supply of water through hand pumps. This indirectly strengthens livelihood, as people will be engaged in sustainable agriculture in the future. Social Audit is an integral part of NREGA. It is carried on from time to time. Manju Rajpal, District Collector, Dungarpur stresses the importance of Social Audit. Mahesh Garg, who is a reporter working in a local newspaper, also sees the role of Social Audit in checking corruption. Tarachand Bhogra, Zila Parishad representative mentioned that the recently completed Social Audit process in Dungarpur found that 85-90% of the money is reaching the poor. All political parties have come together on NREGA. The local BJP leader of the area says very categorically that there is no party politics involved in this. Shankar Yadav, the leader of the Congress party also says that the best thing about the scheme is that peoples applications for jobs gives them jobs. 95% of the scheme is successful. Rs. 95 crore was spent out of which 87% is on labour. Prem Kumar Patdar, an official from the Block, says that everyone has benefited, directly or indirectly. Migration and all its negative social impacts has reduced to a large extent. Suresh Falojia, another official at the Block Level also says that once people receive money they feel confident.
18
Punj Lal Parmar, local MLA, says, that happiness is visible on peoples face. NREGA has stirred up a lot of enthusiasm among people. In the sensitization camp they participated in large numbers and listened with great interest. Right to Information (RTI) is linked with NREGA to give transparency to the implementation process. There are large boards at the Gram Panchyat office displaying the clauses of the Act and its entitlements. It also says that if within 15 days people are not given work then they will be entitled to Unemployment Allowance.
Sian Muluk is an agro-based area near Bolpur Sub-Divisional town with 12,520 inhabitants. This Gram Panchayat has been implementing rural developmental programmes as well as schemes in a decentralized manner with active participation of rural people. The Panchyati Raj Institution and members of the PRIs have been immensely involved in all developmental activities. This Gram Panchayat has been implementing schemes under NREGA 2005 (WBREGS 2006) since the day the programme was launched in 18 Gram Sansads covering all areas of the GP. Sian Muluk has registered 4193 families out of 4207. Since the launch of the programme, this Gram Panchayat has taken up 48 projects. Most of the projects have been taken up with the aim of increasing water sources and green cover. More than 3100 Job Card holders have benefited under NREGA 2005 (WBREGS 2006). Most of them have got 100 days of work in the last financial year. The Gram Panchayat has already re-excavated 25 tanks/ponds which is a huge water resource for increased agricultural activities. It has developed a good road network under the Rural Connectivity Scheme. Strip plantation has been done by the side of these roads. The Gram Panchayat has been able to generate 185000 nos. of man-days till date with cumulative expenditure of Rs. 1,42,00,000 keeping a good track of record of each and every rupee.
Major share of SC/ST HHs in employment generation

ST & SC share: 61.80% ST: 32.98 Crores [36.44%]
120.0 100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0
SC: 22.95 Crores [25.35%]
SCs
STs
Chhattisgarh
Kerala M.P Maharashtra Manipur
Jharkhand Uttaranchal
Nagaland
Sikkim Tamil nadu Tripura
Meghalaya
Karnataka
W. Bengal
Rajasthan
Mizoram
A.P Ar. P Assam Bihar Gujarat
H.P J&K
Haryana
Orissa Punjab
U.P
19
My land did not even give me a Rs. 2 in return, but after associating with NREGA, I hope to get at least Rs. 10,000 from the same land, these are the words of Premvati Gond a gond tribal woman of village Amanala in District Mandla in Madhya Pradesh. With NREGA assistance Premwati got a pond constructed in her field which did not have any source of irrigation water. This not only provided the family employment but she was able to grow brinjal and chillies. The main population of Sidhi is distributed within four blocks. Mainly comprising of Scheduled Tribe families. These families have fairly large land holdings but due to lack of irrigation they cannot produce enough food even to last out one season. The Panchayats in the area decided to support the digging and repair of wells on lands of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes. In order to ensure that families had a stake in developing the asset, 5% of the total cost of the work was taken as a contribution in the form of labour. In Sidhi district 2400 new wells are being dug under NREGA and 1753 old wells are being repaired. 54,11,000 persondays of employment have been generated so far at a cost of Rs. 32.46 crores. Pandhana is another tribal habitat in the Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, where large scale water re-charge structures, such as ponds, wells and check dams were taken up under NREGA. In Keshpala village, in Ghantmal Gram Panchayat, Kalahandi District, Orissa, a low-lying irrigation facility was available, but it was not very useful as it had a high surface run-off. The villagers asked if they could construct a sluice, build bathing ghats and also strengthen the embankment. This project is now providing irrigation to 70 hectares of land belonging to 100 Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe families. The cost of the project was Rs. 10,00,000
THE HINDU, Thursday, Nov 02, 2006

SHGs, women key to NREGA success Special Correspondent NEW DELHI: United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday sought womens participation in the social auditing of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme to make it more effective. Delivering the valedictory address at a workshop of State Secretaries and Programme Coordinators of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Districts, organised by the Union Rural Development Ministry here on Wednesday, Ms. Gandhi said monitoring should be an integral part of the scheme and suggested that women and self-help groups could play an in important role in making it a success. Assuring that there would be no dearth of money in implementation of the scheme, Ms. Gandhi said if the money was spent judiciously it could change the face and lives of rural India. However, this could be done only through a social audit, she added. Spelling out the priorities of the UPA Government as enlisted in the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP), she said high on the list was bridging the gap between the rich and the poor as also removal of disparities between the rural and urban regions. She said the Government was committed to the implementation of the policies for the uplift of the poor and the backward.
20
Participation of Women in the Work Force ACT: At least 1/3rd of the beneficiaries shall be women who have registered and requested for work under the Scheme
Significant Share of Women in Work Force

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
Jharkhand
Nagaland
Sikkim TN
Bihar Chhattisgarh
Uttaranchal
Rajasthan
Assam
Mizoram
Ar. P
H.P
Karnataka
Orissa Punjab
Haryana
Employment provided to women (% age of total employment provided) upto MAR-2007
Ms. Gandhi said the National Rural Health Mission, Bharat Nirman, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Prarambhik Shiksha Kosh, Mid Day Meal scheme and now the NREG Scheme were some policies aimed at bridging the divide between the privileged and the under-privileged. According to her, enactment of the Right to Information Act was another important step in this direction. Extension of scheme Expressing satisfaction over the implementation of the rural development schemes, Ms. Gandhi, however, said some States needed to put in more effort. Here, the district programme coordinators could play a major role, she added. Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, Union Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said the NREGA would be extended to more districts in the second phase of its implementation. He said that his Ministry had approached the Planning Commission for selection of districts for extension of the scheme. This was being done following a demand from several States. So far, 1.36 crore people have been provided employment, of the 1.40 crore people who sought employment under the NREGA. The Minister said 3,663 mandays of work had been provided under the programme, adding that 50 per cent of the funds allocated for the current year have already been released.
Maharashtra Manipur
Gujarat
Tripura
Kerala
J&K
WB
AP
MP
UP
21
NREGA Implementation Status Report for the Financial Year 2006-07

Persondays In Lakhs Expentiture In Lakhs Works Works Ongoing Completed Total SCs STs Women Others Funds Available In Lakhs Total Works
22
2 2161494 16926 798179 1708610 226269 50765 67187 121328 548532 104927 2866349 353024 18568 99177 52478 27884 1407251 31788 1175172 4179 683708 74800 2676261 3235360 1282794 1394108 1394108 520.47 3083757 1256737 440.08 700.21 74335 2573245 50.13 822.91 7.98 467.82 158.78 84.08 122.19 683481 182.79 102.48 1175172 4107 998.87 2.42 159.5 0.02 642.9 2.38 4.34 31.17 25.62 81.88 318.98 209.7 0.57 3298.73 1394169 31648 799.34 15.57 189.06 10.8 393.87 0 27884 13.08 0 13.08 3.92 284.58 5.88 670.68 0.6 148.27 37.6 136.21 80.46 275.29 205.46 12.37 3679 96627 50998 24.22 7.85 0.07 0 20.14 7.85 47 2.62 4.01 0 0 216.41 4.77 196.47 0.03 75.97 10.98 329.46 199.42 297.15 188.59 29.19 3456.6 353024 18568 159.28 18.57 25.79 0 65.12 18.57 59.05 9.45 68.37 0 2866349 1971.77 312.96 959.05 852.53 699.76 545185 99107 222.01 20.48 73.37 4.12 45.18 2.54 112.24 13.44 103.46 13.82 34131.33 4835.18 213368.4 48693.66 2037.59 2583.63 2598.21 1595.96 89018.66 3839.21 85617.3 456.5 25210.92 4977.63 102871.22 63023.42 84088.78 98220.95 7105.31 1207356 63514 121328 29.9 32.3 9.09 1.75 6.7 7.5 3.66 1.44 14.11 23.05 5719.2 5012.4 50765 24.12 14.48 0 7.38 9.64 4652.85 3594.67 3940.12 3454.44 24829.67 2789.73 186268.6 17461.18 2025.5 2111.85 1643.11 1457.62 73346.62 2500.21 69306.14 261.89 15163.63 4507.68 77967.46 39462.63 66882.16 71155.13 1688899 226269 596.87 100.48 281 7.07 19.13 64.57 103.72 50.44 296.74 28.84 119117.81 12374.74 71276.16 8585.03 16926 792270 4.53 572.92 0 49.57 4.53 265.05 1.36 181.43 0 258.3 1211.25 70769.1 221.34 59252.93 99 5889 32122 5292 667 4004 1236 7638 285 86610 5568 714 2074 47 4 32718 579 13278 55 4506 867 32516 18780 16358 39767 2161395 678.77 202.41 88.31 371.93 388.05 114224.4 68020.32 133727 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 87571 397 9518 29759 3137 985 4722 722 11005 2756 82548 5324 901 850 216 124 18803 749 8771 103 2213 4115 42984 24281 16105 24048 4849.7 2827 4426 882335.5 448227 387133 13 221298 496 15407 61881 8429 1652 8726 1958 18643 3041 169158 10892 1615 2924 263 128 51521 1328 22049 158 6719 4982 75500 43061 32463 63815 7253 835360
S. No.
States
No.of No.of households households who have provided demanded employment employment
Andhra Pradesh
2 3
Arunachal Pradesh Assam
4 5
Bihar Gujarat
Haryana
7 8
Himachal Pradesh J&K
9 10
Karnataka Kerala
11
Madhya Pradesh
12 13
Maharashtra Manipur
14 15
Meghalaya Mizoram
16
Nagaland
17 18
Orissa Punjab
19 20
Rajasthan Sikkim
21
Tamil Nad u
22 23
Tripura Uttar Pradesh
24 25
West Bengal Chhattisgarh
26
Jharkhand
27
Uttranchal Total
134363 134312 40.6 10.84 21188894 21016099 9050.56 2295.24
Maharani Pradhan belongs to Kharulchap village of Sundargarh District in Orissa. My husband is dead. I used to beg for survival. Now that I have got employment for two and a half months, I have stopped begging and can now live with dignity. Sukumari Bag lives in Bagabandha village of Sundargarh District. She states, My husband lost his leg in an accident and is therefore not in a position to work. The villagers told me about NREGA. I have worked for 80 days and we are now able to educate our children.
Socio Economic Improvement under NREGA

My husband is a bus-stand cooly and he cant earn Rs. 50/per day. In my area there is no regular agriculture and as a women, I was also not able to earn anything. Now under NREGS, Every week myself Tmt. K. Minnalkodi, W/o, Kannan, and my husband both of us Kattakamanpatti, getting average weekly payBatlagundu Panchayat Union ment of Rs. 960/- (480 + 480). Now we are having our own account at Canara Bank Batlagundu which was our life time dream. Every weekend we are getting the payment through the bank and we are satisfied.
Umesh Chandra Bag is a resident of Bagabandha village of Sundargarh District in Orissa. His father died when he was studying, leaving him to support his two younger brothers who were very young and in school. When my father died I had no money. Our Sarpanch told me about NREGA. As the head of my family, I registered myself for work. I have been working for 20 days. Since I get paid Rs. 100 per day, I am able to save Rs. 50 per day. I am hoping to study further or do some kind of business. Satyanand Kishan and Radha Kishan are from Village Telko Bud of Sundargarh. For them wage work has helped them afford education to their children. We have completed 80 days of work and are happy. It has become easier for us to send our children to school. Our older daughter has done her matriculation examination and our younger daughter will appear for her matriculation exam this year. Our son is going to college. Now we need more work to give our children better education. Madhu Kishan, their son said, I am very grateful to my parents for doing manual work so that I could finish my education. I am studying in Class 12 at the Panchayat College in Banakusa because of their hard work. Sita Kishan the daughter said, Because of my parents work on NREGS sites, I was able to learn stitching and my brother and sister are both studying.
23
K. Minnalkodi lives in the Batlagundu Panchayat Union area, Dindigul District. She and her husband have been working on deepening and desiltation of the supply channel from Vairavan Dam to Burma Dr. Thottam. She said, My husband is a bus-stand coolie and he is not able to earn more than Rs. 50 per day. In this area there is very little agriculture and as a woman I am not able to get any employment. Now under NREGA, my husband and I go regularly to work and we have been able to earn Rs. 480 each per week. Now we have our own bank account with the Canara Bank in Batlagundu and our wages are paid through the bank.
The Teliabhasa Biria Bundh in Ayodhya, Baghmundi in Purulia district, West Bengal, is currently being excavated at an estimated cost of Rs. 501,049. Approximately 6800 person days of employment has been generated and 303 households have been provided 70 days each of employment. The labourers found it difficult to get work locally and survived on the sale of fire-wood from which they earned approximately Rs.15 -20 per day. Through NREGA work, they have been able to earn nearly Rs. 65-70 per day based on the quantum of work done. Irrigation facilities will now be available on 15 acres of land.
Dhan Kaur, mother of two sons and a resident of village Ajjowal, belonging to the Sikligar Tribe, is a beneficiary under NREGA. Her husband, Kartar Singh was a labourer and used to move from one village to another to repair iron buckets and pans etc. He had to travel even to Himachal Pradesh in search of work. Money was not sufficient to make both ends meet. So he engaged his elder son, Pawan Kumar, in his profession. Pawan Kumar was married to Sunita, thus a new member joined their family. They had a son, Raj, who is now one and half years of age. With the expanding family, their meager income was insufficient. In the meantime, the government of India selected Hoshiarpur district to be covered under NREGA. Dhan Kaur got her name registered and a Job Card was issued to her family. She started work right in her village. With the money she earned from NREGA work, she got her daughter-in-law, Sunita, admitted to a Red Cross Societys craft centre in village Ajjowal to learn tailoring. She purchased a sewing machine with her savings so that Sunita could start taking sewing orders. At present, Sunita earns about Rs.40 daily by stitching clothes. When we spoke to her, she said that with her earnings she would provide a good education to her son Raj. With NREGA help, Dhan Kaur improved her lifestyle and also gained self-confidence and economic independence. 24
Surkhi, a homemaker, lives in village Ajjowal of Block Hoshiarpur-1. She has four daughters and two sons. She belongs to a poor family. Her husband Harbans Singh used to sell ordinary articles of daily use by cycling from one village to another. He was the only earning member of the family. Unfortunately, he met with an accident which fractured his right forearm got fractured rendering him unable to carry on his work. Under these circumstances, Surkhi took courage and started doing work in her village as a labourer and started earning Rs. 50 from the contractors. With the introduction of NREGA in Hoshiarpur District, she got herself registered and is now employed in her own village. With her savings she was able to purchase a rehri (push cart) for her husband on which he sells eatables in the village. Thus NREGA helped the family to stand again on their feet.
Kavali Ishwaramma is 35. We used to go as In Mallanampatty Village Panchayat of construction labour to the Ramoji Film City Batlagundu Block, Deepening and renonear Hyderabad. We worked there for 2 years. vation of Odaikulam tank and desilting We used to come to the village every month to of supply channel work taken up at an est. cost of Rs.5.00 lakhs and the work collect our rations. That is how we heard about EGS. We left our two daughters with their E Mallanampatty is under progress. 30% of the total households have been registered and Flower Harvesting grandfather in the village Now that EGS work (Time 6.00 A.M. to jobs card is issued to them on the spot. 8.00 A.M.) is available in the village, we wont leave the The scheme is being implemented with village for work. Ishwaramma worked for 44 the participation and full involvement of the public without and a half days on bunding, pitting, plantation any interference of middleman or contractor. In Mallanampatti village of Batlagundu Block the people used and watering work and got paid Rs. 120 per to go to harvest the flowers from 6.00 A.M. to 8.00 A.M. day. She worked alone as her husband is a and after then they started working in the tank desiltation jeetam (bonded labour on an annual contract). under NREGS. In this way they are able to get additional My husband is a jeetam with a local farmer. wage employment from TNREG scheme. He is paid Rs. 8000 per year. He has been a jeetam from February 2006. Our daughter got married and we needed money so we borrowed Rs. 20,000. We have to pay an interest of Rs. 3 on Rs. 100 per month. He will have to work for several years to repay the loan. Last year before the EGS work started, 20 people became jeetam in the village. Now 10 people have got released because their families earned good wages from EGS work. Indiramma is 30. Her husband has been a jeetam for 4 years. She worked on EGS projects for 133 days and earned Rs. 13,962. We took a loan of Rs. 20,000 four years back to construct a house. My husband used to get paid Rs. 6000 per year for the first 2 years and then this was increased to Rs. 7000. The interest on this money was Rs. 3 on Rs. 100 per month. I also worked for the same landlord and was paid Rs. 20 per day. With my EGS earnings, I have been able to pay back the landlord and now my husband is a free man. Pole Satish is about 22 years of age and was studying in class 10. When asked if he had ever worked before he said, I cant remember how old I was, maybe 7 or 8 years, when my father took a loan and I was put to work as a jeetam. I dont know how much money my parents took, but I was paid Rs. 2000 per year. I used to go to night school after work. It took me 6 years to repay the loan. My 25
main job was grazing cattle, looking after them, cleaning the compound and bringing fodder. This is my first job as an adult working on an EGS projects.
Wages Earned by Labourers Account for 66% of Total Expenditure

120.0
%age of Wage, Material & Contigency
100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0
Assam
Jharkhand
Punjab
Wage
Material
Contigency
26
Chhattisgarh
Maharashtra
Uttaranchal
Ar. P
AP
HP
Nagaland
Rajasthan
Haryana
Sikkim
Tamil nadu
Karnataka
Meghalaya
W. Bengal
Gujarat
J&K
Mizoram
Manipur
Bihar
Kerala
MP
Orissa
Tripura
UP
In the Batlagundu Panchayat Union area of Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu, people migrated to Tiruchur and Allepey in Kerala for work in the brick kilns and tile manufacturing units. Vijaya said, This hampered our childrens education. But now NREGA work gives us an opportunity to stay in our village and our children are going to school regularly.
In Khill Panchyat, district Dungarpur, land is barren, people have very little opportunity to work. Shankar, one of the villagers wants to migrate but responsibility towards his family stops him from doing so as there is no one to look after his wife and little child. There are others in the village who are also forced to earn. NREGA is the one thing which people like Shankar and others like him want. It would give them an opportunity to earn while staying in their own village.
Hindu, July 13,2006 Savita Lahur, an Adivasi of Badli village (Udaipur), asked if she would still migrate to Gujarat if work at even Rs.40 a day were available in Badli itself said: Yahan 40 mile to Gujarat jaane ka kya kaam hai? Bimaar ho jaate hain phir kya karen? (If I can get Rs.40 here, then why would I go to Gujarat? If one falls ill there, what would one do?)
When they heard about it, they and many others went to the GP office on the scheduled day to get more information about the scheme. People came in large numbers to the Sarpanch. The Sarpanch distributed application forms. They filled the application form. The Sarpanch did the paperwork and sent the papers to the Block Office. 1228 people in 9 revenue villages have been issued Job Cards and applied for jobs. They have been employed in building check dams to prevent soil erosion. The work is very useful for their village. Shankar is happy. He does not have to migrate. He can go back home at 5 pm. 27
Talari Yadamma, 45 years, has worked
Solution for Migration 30 days on EGS works and received Rs. Employment opportunities were available only to the skilled labourers in the coconut fields in our areas. Unskilled labourers 120 per day. She worked with her normally used to go to Madurai and Tanjavur districts to get daughter. The main tasks she was employment. But now we are all engaged in TNREG scheme involved with were bunding, pitting and works and able to save at least Rs. 1000/- per month. watering of plants. She said that she needed more work, EGS work is good because it is continuous. We need more work. When I worked in agriculture I used to be out of the village for a month at a Thiru R. Chinnasamy time. We traveled almost 100 kms. in S/o, Raman, Kattakamanpatti Batlagundu Panchayat Union Deepening and Desilting of Supply Channel from search of work. We had to spend Ugadi Job Card No. : 26/1 Vairavan Dam to Burma Dr. Thottam Est. Amount : Rs. 3.00 lakhs outside the village and got paid only Rs. 30 per person per day. Groups of 15 persons went with the labour contractor in a lorry to far off villages. We went twice last year. Now that we have got work in our own village, why should we go out in search of work? After EGS work started, we have stopped going out to work.
Pole Poshamma, 35 yearsI learnt about the EGS because there was a meeting in the village
where the Minister, MLA (Member of the Legislative Assembly) and MPDO (Mandal Parishad Development Officer) came. They told us about EGS. I worked with my husband for 137 days and earned Rs. 16,307 each. My two children are going to school. Her main work was bunding, pitting, plantation and watering of plants. Before EGS work started, she and her husband and children would migrate. We went for work to other villages and stayed there through the agricultural season which is more than half the year. We could come home only for functions or festivals and that also only for a few days. We went beyond Sagar and took our children with us. As a result, one child could not get any education. But now the second child is in school. Because of EGS even local farmers have raised wages from Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 per day. With the EGS money we have been able to repay our debts. We had borrowed Rs. 30,000 for our daughters marriage.
K. Jangai, 65 years, said, My

son and I worked for 119 days on bunding, pitting and planting work. I worked as a rickshaw puller in Hyderabad for 20 years. I used to earn Rs. 200 per day but I spent Rs. 50 every day as well. 28
Now that EGS work has come to the village, I have stopped going to Hyderabad and prefer to stay in the village even though I earn a little less. This way I can look after my son. There are 15-20 people from our village who worked as rickshaw pullers in Hyderabad. When I was working in Hyderabad, I used to come back to the village every 10 days for two-three days. On EGS work I can come home every evening. When I worked in Hyderabad, I did not know what was happening at home and they did not know how I was. Now with EGS work, I can look after my family. I have 6 daughters and 1 son and last year I married off a daughter and I was able to pay for her wedding expenses from the EGS wages I earned. If I dont get EGS work, I will have to go back to working as a rickshaw puller in Hyderabad and I dont want to do that.
K. Sujatha is 30 and earned Rs. 11,057 as EGS wages. She worked for 102 and a half days doing
bunding, pitting, plantation and watering work. Both she and her husband worked. They have a 5year-old son and a daughter of 2. Earlier I worked in the cotton fields in the village and earned Rs. 20-30 per day. My husband worked as a hamali (casual labourer) in a rice mill near Hyderabad. After EGS work was started in our village, my husband stopped going to Hyderabad. There are 20-25 families where the husbands would go to work in the rice mills, which are 60 kms. away from the village. Now all of them have stopped working in the rice mills in Hyderabad.
In the Dindigul District of Tamil Nadu, NREGA works have stemmed migration from many villages. According to Thiru R. Chinnasamy, Employment opportunities were available only to skilled labourers in the coconut fields in our area. Unskilled labourers normally used to go to Madurai Deepening and Desilting of Supply Channel From Tmt. Vijaya Vairavan Dam to Burma Dr. Thottam Est. Amount and Thanjavur districts to get employment. W/o, Mohan, Kattakamanpatti, : Rs. 3.00 lakhs Batlagundu Panchayat Union Job Card No. : 120/1 But now we are all engaged in EGS works Guarantee for Education and able to save at least Rs. 1000 per Every month from January to August we had the habit of month. S. Selvaraj from Gudalur Panchayat, migrating to Tiruchur, Alapula in Kerala state for working in Dindigul District said, Due to the brick kilns and tiles manufacturing companies. This unemployment and drought conditions we hampered our childrens education. But now TNREG scheme works give us an opportunity to stay in our native village had to migrate to Coimbatore District in and our children are going to the school regularly. search of employment. We had to stay there for one year. Now that NREGS has started we have returned to our native village and sought employment locally. We got wage employment for 20 days and received Rs. 1600. I am happy that work is available in my own village. K. Lakshmis family migrated every year to Erode District in search of employment. This year we have not migrated as employment is available in our area. We are working in the desilitation of the Nalligoundan Kulam and get a regular wage of Rs. 80 per day. Villages like Gudalur and Karungal are notorious for seasonal migration. Every year 40 - 50 families migrate. This year, because of NREGS, no seasonal migration has taken place. 29
Priority to Water Conservation

(All figures in percent)
4% 11%
Water Conservation Provision of Irrigation Facility to Land Owned by SC/ST Rural Connectivity
21%
54%
Land Development
10%
Any other activitiy
Rajasthan
District Udaipur Panchayat Samiti Jharol About 12 km. away from the headquarters of the Panchayat Samiti office in Jadhol in Barbali GP near Kirat valley, a project for constructing water harvesting structures and plantation of trees was sanctioned for Rs. 4.98 lakhs. With this money, small check dams were constructed on the rivulets on the slope of the land. This is expected to stop soil erosion and also conserve water by slowing down its flow on the slope of the terrain. 30
Panchayat Samiti Girva The District Collector of Udaipur in Panchayat Samiti Girva under Gram Panchyat Gureli has sanctioned a project worth Rs. 7.32 crores for construction of water harvesting structures. Under this project, stones are used to make check dams. The work is in the final stages. Thirty families have got employment for almost 40 days each. Once this project is completed, it is expected that the water table will rise in this area, thus helping agriculture. A total 5575 person days of work is expected to be created in this project. Gram Panchyat Makdadev Salona Village is situated in Gram Panchyat Makdadev in Panchayat Samiti Jharol. It is 40 km. from Udaipur city. The terrain is hilly and agriculture is the main source of livelihood. Much of the agricultural land in the area is around the canals. Under NREGA, a project for reinforcing the canals and water harvesting structures was sanctioned in March 2006. The total amount sanctioned for the project was Rs. 11 lakhs. The work began on 2 may 2006. Upstream, a loose stone check dam would be constructed which would reduce the speed of water flowing down. Two water harvesting structures in the form of tanks would be built. As a result, 15 hectares of land would come under irrigation, benefitting 37 families. It is expected that production of crops would also increase by 15%. The total volume of the tanks would be 5400 cubic meters. These will help in recharge the 8 wells around the canal. The strengthened walls of the canal would stop soil erosion. Gram Panchyat Bambora A project for construction of water harvesting structures was inaugurated by the District Collector of Udaipur on February 2006. The total amount sanctioned was Rs. 4.59 lakhs. This project will give employment to 30 families and will create 3698 person days of employment.
Water Conservation Works

Flood Control and Protection 3.3% Drought Proofing 14.6% Micro Irrigation Works 5.3% Provision of Irrigation Facility to Land Owned by SC/ST by 15.2% Renovation of Traditional 11.3% Water Bodies
Water Conservation and Water Harvesting 50.3%
31
As a result of this project, ground water would rise leading to an increase in crop production and a considerable rise in the level of income of the farmers. In Lodwa, Village in the Dungarpur District of Rajasthan, a group of villagers were busy building a check dam. They say that seasonal migration has gone down due to proper implementation of the NREGA and they are able to eat two decent meals every day. In Dungarpur District, the EGS projects revolve around water harvesting, conservation, afforestation, flood control and drought proofing. Around 11,000 water conservation-related structures have been built in the past 11 months. In one year, Rs. 95 crores have been spent. Of this, Rs. 87 crores have gone towards the payment of wages.
West Bengal
District Murshidabad A project on re-excavation of a canal from Goghata More to Chandpur South Primary School was executed by the Chandpur Gram Panchayat under the Nowda Development Block in Murshidabad District during December 2006 under NREGA. It was included in the Annual Action Plan of 2006-07 of Chandpur GP. The vetted estimate of the scheme was Rs. 2,06,750 lakhs. Work was started on 17 December 2006 based on demands from labourers seeking jobs. It was completed on 24 December 2006. The work was totally labour-oriented and the total expenditure incurred as labour wage payment was Rs. 2,04,386 lakhs. A total of 2938 person days were generated through this work. Members of 219 local households were provided work and out of them, 42 were from scheduled castes. The said canal flows alongside the black-topped road between Chandpur and Patikabari. The re-excavation work will not only act as a deep drainage channel during the monsoons but can also be used for a cluster of jute-retting tanks along the main road. The absence of such tanks, especially within the vicinity of the rich jute-growing fields, made the production costs of jute very high and a loss-making activity since the raw jute had to be transported from far off fields at great costs. Therefore, the excavation of this canal, which was roughly 1.1 km. solved not only the water-logging problem on the main road but has also solved the absence of jute-retting tanks by the side of jute-growing fields. This fulfilled a long-cherished demand of the farmers. District Birbhum Sian Muluk Gram Panchayat has 4207 families of whom 4193 families have been registered under the NREGSWest Bengal Most of the population comprises of Scheduled Tribes. Forty-eight projects were started in this area, mostly for regeneration of natural resource bases. More than 3100 Job Card holders have been provided work for 100 days. 185,000 persondays of employment has been generated at the cost of Rs. 1,42,00,000. The Gram Panchayat selected projects that would improve agricultural productivity. Twenty-five tanks and 32
Re-excavation of Hazrapukur
ponds owned by the government were re-excavated. Now 300 Self Help Groups (SHGs) have taken up agricultural work to improve their incomes in and around the area. Rural roads have been constructed and plantations developed. A pond, with a water storage area of 50 bighas has been re-excavated and will now be able to irrigate 200 bighas of agricultural land. This project will directly benefit 240 families. The project has provided 17,386 person days of employment at a cost of Rs. 11, 82,282. The Hazrapukar tank is also being excavated. It has an area of 10 bighas and will provide irrigation to 50 bighas of land for vegetable cultivation throughout the year. Fifty families will benefit directly from agriculture and pisciculture activities. The project has provided 3709 person days of employment at a cost of Rs. 2, 70,024. The embankment of River Ajay was weak, making many villages such as Mohuli, Dhyanasada and Gitagram extremely vulnerable during the floods. The villagers decided to strengthen the embankment over an area of 2.50 kilometers. They planted saplings on the embankment to strengthen it further. Six thousand nine hundred and fourty four person days of employment was provided at a cost of Rs. 4,72,158. The Muluk Dead canal was re-excavated covering an area of 4 kms. The idea was to provide irrigation facilities to 200 acres of land belonging to small and marginal farmers so that they could increase their vegetable cultivation and provide green cover. The 250 Scheduled Tribe families also wanted to start pisciculture. They have planted coconut, mango, citrus and amla trees. 22,600 persondays of employment has been provided on this project at the cost of Rs. 15, 43,192.
Punjab
District Hoshiarpur Basei is a village in Hoshiarpur-1 Block. There was no sewage disposal system in the village. The sewage used to flow down the village streets and collect on the main link road. The Gram Panchayat decided to dig a pond to use the mud to level the adjacent land, which was becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes. At a cost of Rs. 2,60,000, 79 people, of which 34 were male and 45 were female were employed. Almost 50 per cent belonged to the Scheduled Castes. They dug a pond and leveled the nearby ground and converted it into a park which is now being used for village functions. Trees have been planted on the periphery of the park. The Panchayat is now planning to construct shops on the periphery of the park so that the rent from the shops becomes a regular source of income for villagers. Bagole Kalan is a small village of Tanda Block and has a population of 500 people. The major problem in the village was the condition of the main phirney, which was in a state of bad repair. It was full of pot holes and during the rainy season, was a nuisance for the villagers. With a grant of Rs. 50,000 from the NREGS, the residents decided to repair the phirneys and fill up the pot holes.
33
Tamil Nadu
Districts Nagapattinam and Dindigul In Paravai Village of South Poigainallur Village Panchayat, Nagapattinam District of Tamil Nadu, a new tank was dug on a 10-acre piece of land. Ninety-eight households worked on the construction site which would provide irrigation facilities as well as water to the local community and animals. The structure was built at a cost of Rs. 7.50 lakhs. Similarly, work was initiated in the remote village of Nangoor in Sirkazi Block of Nagapattinam district. The Nangoor tank was desilted at a cost of Rs. 7 lakhs increasing the capacity of the tank so that water for irrigation is now available to local farmers. In addition, the Nangoor canal was also desilted at a cost of Rs. 4 lakhs. As a result of this, more than 30 acres of agricultural land is being irrigated. Semberi is a tiny hamlet of Sounderasolapuram Panchayat in Cuddalore District of Tamil Nadu. The village is situated on the banks of the River Vellar. During 2005, there were unprecedented rains and the bund was breached in several places, devastating almost 200 acres of land. The villagers wanted to repair the breaches and the Gram Panchayat allocated Rs. 8.76 lakhs for the project. Dindigul District is one of the most backward districts of Tamil Nadu. There are no irrigation facilities in more than 70% of the district. Approximately 65% of the population is made up of agricultural labourers. Approximately 98,538 households registered themselves for work under TNREGS and 38,962 households were given employment. Out of the 1618 works sanctioned, 1410 were for water recharging. In Chettiapatti village Panchayat with 9 habitations, the work of rejuvenating and increasing the storage capacity of the Senkulam Tank is underway. A total of 219 households are engaged in the work. In Maanampatty Village Panchayat of Batiagundu Block, Dindigul District, deepening and renovation of the Odaikulam tank and the desilting of the supply chain is underway at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs. Thirty per cent of households are registered for work and the work is being done without a middleman or contractor. The villagers harvest flowers for the market between 6.00 am to 8.00 am and then come for the desiltation work. They are able to augment their earnings in this way.
Madhya Pradesh
District Sidhi Sidhi District, situated in the north-east corner of the state of Madhya Pradesh, is known for its undulated terrain and dismally low agricultural productivity due to lack of irrigation facilities. Four blocks of the district namely, Chitrangi, Deosar, Waidhan and Kusmi have a large tribal population. Despite having sizable land holdings these families are hardly able to produce enough to last for a season. The NREGA provides for land development work including irrigation work to be taken up on SC/ST lands held in their individual capacities. This provision is very effectively used in Sidhi District to provide irrigation facilities to land holding SC/ST families. Along with new irrigation wells, a large number of already existing wells were dug deeper or repaired. The fact that all these wells were dug on individual lands has ensured timely and qualitative completion of the work, because the individual on whose land it was dug in took an active interest in the work. 34
The technical estimates for the wells were prepared by the rural engineering services and were given administrative sanction by the Gram Panchayats themselves. To make sure that the individual beneficiary families have a stake in the assets, 5% of the total cost of the work was taken as contribution in the form of labor. In Sidhi District, in the financial year of 2006-07, the number of new wells dug are 2400 and 2238 are under construction. At the same time, 1753 wells have been repaired so far. Digging an irrigation well is a highly labor-oriented activity which ensures creation of wage employment for many people. In
Water Conservation Works under the NREGA

Water conservation and water harvesting (digging of new tank/ ponds,check dam) Renovation of traditional water bodies (desiliting of tanks/ponds, desiliting of old canals, desilting of old canals, desilting of traditional open well) Provision of irrigation facility on land owned by scheduled castes and scheduled tribes beneficiaries of land reforms, beneficiaries of Indira Aawas Yojana Flood control & protection Drought(drainage in proofing water logged (afforestation areas, and tree construction plantation) & embankment)
Sates
Micro irrigation works (minor irrigation canals)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
S.No.
Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu And Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil N adu Tripura Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Chattisgarh Jharkhand Uttranchal Total
103021 38 1000 12949 3279 494 796 216 6929 981 64086 6216 423 773 27 26 4906 0 9602 8 1296 1678 9182 6923 4503 25126 3282 267760
15650 0 203 3506 414 93 347 93 853 484 3060 57 7 225 0 5 4860 296 3434 2 3337 412 11167 4578 2518 4486 328 60415
429 0 242 260 1986 0 23 208 1200 100 46794 0 0 41 0 0 11567 0 722 0 0 69 789 772 553 15130 9 80894
8413 0 733 2499 130 175 541 124 614 220 3637 21 158 136 0 13 1537 0 691 29 1405 336 2855 2188 712 576 317 28060
39207 225 300 1183 470 23 223 72 1495 34 11227 2103 283 486 0 17 1616 15 954 0 7 220 4745 6832 4346 422 1075 77580
11 3 1703 2248 257 9 654 571 1100 785 961 86 7 65 21 5 599 54 205 95 41 192 3506 3400 178 137 1012 17905
35
Sidhi District, 54,11,000 person days have been generated so far. The total expenditure incurred on the work is 32.46 crores. While choosing beneficiaries, it was ensured that the beneficiaries family has a sizable land holding and is in need of irrigation facilities. This has enabled those families to raise an extra crop which is a considerable addition to their agricultural income. With the number of wells already dug, about 19,200 hectares of land will be irrigated. Thus, the irrigation wells project in Sidhi district show how advance planning and good implementation have the capacity to change the rural economy.
Afforestation and Tree Plantation Works Under NREGA
District Murshidabad, West Bengal

An NREGA scheme namely, Plantation work alongside the village road at Rathtalapara was taken up for execution by the Chandpur Gram Panchayat during September 2006. This scheme was aimed at the protection of road flanks against rainwater-induced erosion as well as to improve the local atmospheric condition upset by air pollution. The vetted estimate of the scheme was Rs. 1,99, 989 lakhs. The execution of the scheme started on 28 September 2006 and it is an on-going one. Presently, a watcher has been appointed to look after the planted trees. Two hundred and thirty seven mango saplings were planted by the side of the village road (approximately 2.9 km. in length), from Rathtalapara to Domdama Katakhal. Till date Rs.1.45 lakhs have been spent and 1548 person days generated, providing work to 51 rural households. It must be mentioned that gabions of bamboo to protect the mango saplings were also made by the registered labourers of NREGA in the GP office premises and then used at the site. Four months after plantation, most of the saplings were found to be growing at a normal rate. When the mango trees are 36
S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu And Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Chhattisgarh Jharkhand Uttranchal Total
Number of Afforestation and tree plantation works 39207 225 300 1183 470 23 223 72 1495 34 11227 2103 283 486 0 17 1616 15 954 0 7 220 4745 6832 4346 422 1075 77580
* 0 denote non-reporting by concerned States
fully grown, they will not only add to the scenic beauty on the stretch of the road, but will also provide shade to farmers who work in the scorching sun in the near-by fields.
District Udaipur, Rajasthan

On a barren land of 50 hectares, a land improvement and plantation project has been taken up by the Panchayat Samiti Jharol situated in Gram Panchyat Makdadev. This work was suggested in a Gram Sabha meeting at Palyakheda and sanctioned under the Rajasthan Employment guarantee project on 20.02.06. A total amount of Rs. 4.9 lakhs was sanctioned for the project. Under this project the activities include: construction and repair of four walls around the land, digging of trenches for water flow and digging of soil to make beds for saplings. Work started in March 2006. In the beginning, trenches and beds for planting trees were prepared. In June, cuttings of Ratanjot were planted along the walls. In July, other saplings were planted just before the monsoon. Till date, 5380 person days were created and Rs. 3.4 lakhs was spent. About 11,096 saplings were planted. The trenches helped prevent soil erosion. The saplings, when they grew would be a source of firewood and could also be used for further plantation.
District Sidhi, Madhya Pradesh

Jatropha Plantation The Sidhi District of Madhya Pradesh undertook jatropha plantation on a large scale under the NREGS. While petrol and diesel prices are touching new highs, the jatropha carcus plant becomes a cheap source of bio-fuel. It is a plant with high resistance against pests and can survive in most difficult situations. With its ability to grow even on dry and hilly areas, it becomes a good choice for green cover. The seeds, which are rich in fuel content, sell at a good price in the ever growing market. These features make jatropha an attractive choice for plantation. The planning process began in December 2005 with studies on taking up jatropha plantation under NREGS. The scheme emphasizes soil and water conservation and so jatropha cultivation was a natural choice. The task began with the identification of the fallow unused revenue land. About 15,000 37
hectares of such land was identified. Eight thousand hectares of land were deployed for jatropha plantation. The number of plants required was calculated. It was decided that the plants would be grown in nurseries run by self help groups (SHGs). In January, 100 SHGs were formed and each group was given the responsibility of growing 25,000 plants in nurseries on one hectare of land. The sites for nurseries were selected near a water source so that water would be available for irrigation even in the month of June. The nurseries were completely managed by the concerned SHGs. By July, when the rains began, about 19,200,000 plants were ready for plantation. The process of raising 19,000 plants generated 57,000 person days and the cost incurred per plant was only Rs. 1.50. With the onset of monsoon, a detailed time-bound programme was designed. The herculean task that faced the administration was the transportation of such a large number of plants to various sites scattered all over the district marked for plantation. The survival of any plantation largely depends on watering and protection against grazing animals. These two important determinants of survival were taken care of by digging cattle protection trenches around plantation sites and employing people for watering. These two activities ensured survival of plants as well as generation of wage employment. Harmon was also sprayed on the plants to increase productivity. Jatropha plants start yielding fruits from the third year of plantation. The average per plant is about 3 to 4 kgs. This means that one hectare of plantation would yield about 8750 kg of seeds which would sell for about Rs. 43,750 (assuming a kg. of seeds sells for Rs. 5). The above calculations show that this has great potential to act as a permanent source of income for the landless poor of the area. The state government of Madhya Pradesh has come up with a policy according to which usufructury rights on jatropha plantations could be given to the self-help groups of landless poor in that area. The process of giving such usufructury rights is ongoing. This would ensure a permanent source of income to the landless poor for about 40 years to come. Thus jatropha cultivation has proved to be a very effective activity towards generating wage employment and also in helping the economic growth of the area.
District Mahendragarh, Haryana

Mahendragarh District in Haryana has five Blocks. During the 7th round of monitoring, the NLM visited three Blocks and 13 villages of the District fro 24 to 28 July 2006. The NREGS scheme is being implemented in the District with good results. In the villages Hazmabagh Mukhota and Nimmi success achieved under NREGS through various programmes. A percolation pond is being constructed under NREGS at the cost of Rs. 5,40,000/- in village Hazmabagh Mukota. The work started in June 2006 and completed in August 2006. The length of the pond is 135 metre, the breadth is 110 metre and depth 9 feet. The waste water of 700 households in the village will be accumulated in the pond. The soil being sandy the water will percolate in the ground. This in turn will recharge the tube wells and the water can be used for irrigation purposes.
38
Plantation has been taken up in village Nimmi under NREGS. This involves sowing of 10,000 Jatropa saplings which is used as bio disel fuel. The cost of the project is Rs. 1,06,710/-. The plants will be used for extraction of oil only after 3 years. The land has been provided by the Gram Panchyat. This is a good innovative project and will increase the income of the Gram Panchyat on a regular basis. Job cards were found to be with te workers and muster rolls were maintained properly.
District Murshidabad, West Bengal

A project under NREGA on Improvement of road by from Puja Mandap to play ground at Elam Nagar was executed by the Chandpur Gram Panchayat under the Nowda Development Block in Murshidabad district during September-October 2006. It was included in the Annual Action Plan of 2006-07 of Chandpur GP. The vetted estimate of the scheme was Rs. 2,48, 230 lakhs. The work began on 28 September 2006 and was completed on 14 October 2006 based on the demands of labourers seeking jobs. Two hundred and forty four rural households were provided with work out of which 27 were those of scheduled castes. A total of 3530 person days were generated through this work. The work in question was taken up in order to construct a link road from the Jalangi River ferryghat (near the playground) to Elam Nagar village. The height of the road was very low before the work began and was subjected to severe water-logging in the rainy season. Thus the very important link road to ferryghat (approximately 550 meters in length), which often got washed away by the river, remained disconnected during the moonsons. The upgraded road not only solves the problem of disconnection but also acts as an earthen embankment to protect the village from the floodwater during the monsoons. A project under NREGA on Improvement of road from the house of Probhat Biswas at Kazipara to
Rural Connectivity works taken up under NREGA
S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 States Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Assam Bihar Gujarat Haryana Himachal Pradesh Jammu And Kashmir Karnataka Kerala Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamil Nadu Tripura Uttar Pradesh West Bengal Chhattisgarh Jharkhand Uttranchal Total Number of Rural Connectivity works 501 66 8465 26815 1704 687 4856 444 5103 174 26807 717 365 987 187 55 22809 832 5777 23 633 1412 35034 14081 8613 12143 759 180049
39
the house of Hakman SK of Pollagari Village was executed by the Debipur Gram Panchayat in Jalangi Development Block District, Murshidabad during December 2006. The road was in a terrible condition causing immense trouble to tvillagers especially during the monsoons. The vetted estimate of the scheme was Rs.1, 65, 519 lakhs. The total expenditure incurred as payment of wages to the labourers was Rs.1, 49, 056 lakhs. Approximately 1.12 km. of the length of the said village road was upgraded through earth-work which was mostly done by women. Two thousand one hundred and ninety two person days were generated and 305 rural families were provided work. Most of the labourers who were provided work under this scheme came from scheduled caste households. Most labourers in this area are seasonal workers who got work only during the sowing and harvesting seasons. The rest of the time they go out of their villages in search of agricultural work in other districts. Providing them labour work, for which there was a great demand, in their own villages under NREGA prevents such migration to some extent. The road has become an asset to the village since it has successfully linked the rest of the block.
District Uttar Dinajpur, West Bengal

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme was launched effectively in Uttar Dinajpur District in the middle of March 2006. We gave thrust mainly on Nursery and Excavation of pond during that period. Interestingly the self help groups could be involved in this programme in some Gram Panchayats and Bindole Gram Panchayat under Raiganj Block topped the list successfully. Bindole is situated 30 km. north-west of Raiganj town. There is one pucca road connecting the place with the district headquarter. There are 11 Self Help Groups in that area. The place is not well connected with roads and bridges to adjacent localities. Initially,Rs. 28,05,202 was allotted to the Bindole Gram Panchayat as the first installment of NREGS. The Pradhan, Bindole took the initiative and involved the Self Help Groups to supervise the work there under the guidance of the Block and District administrations. Twelve of earthen roads were constructed at Bindole which have created several persondays and a permanent asset in their area.
40
41
STATES Andhra Pradesh
DISTRICTS
STATES
DISTRICTS Jamui
Adilabad Anantapur Chittoor Cuddapah Karimnagar Khammam Mahbubnagar Medak Nalgonda Nizamabad Rangareddi Vizianagaram Warangal Arunachal Pradesh Upper Subansiri Assam Bongaigaon Dhemaji Goalpara Karbi Anglong Kokrajhar Lakhimpur North Cachar Hills Bihar Araria Auranagabad Bhojpur Darbhanga Gaya Gujarat Chattisgarh
Jahanabad Kaimur (Bhabua) Katihar Kishanganj Lakhisarai Madhubani Munger Muzaffarpur Nalanda Nawada Patna Purnia Rohtas Samastipur Sheohar Supaul Vaishali
Bastar Bilaspur Dantewada Dhamtari Jashpur Kanker Kawardha Korea Raigarh Rajnandagon Surguja
Banas Kantha
Contd...
42
STATES
DISTRICTS Dang Dohad Narmada Panch Mahals Sabar Kantha
STATES
DISTRICTS Sahebganj Saraikela Kharsawan Simdega West Singhbhum
Karnataka Bidar
Haryana Mahendragarh Sirsa Himachal Pradesh Chamba Sirmaur Jammu & Kashmir Doda Kupwara Poonch Jharkhand Bokaro Chatra Dhanbad Dumka Garhwa Giridih Godda Gumla Hazaribagh Jamtara Koderma Latehar Lohardaga Pakur Palamu Ranchi Madhya Pradesh Kerala
Chitradurga Davangere Gulbarga Raichur
Palakkad Wayanad
Balaghat Barwani Betul Chhatarpur Dhar Dindori East Nimar Jhabua Khargone Mandla Satna Seoni Shahdol Sheopur Shivpuri Sidhi Tikamgarh Umaria
Contd...
43
STATES Maharashtra
DISTRICTS
STATES
DISTRICTS Kandhamal Kendujhar Koraput Malkangiri Mayurbhanj Nabarangapur Nuapada Rayagada Sambalpur Sonepur Sundargarh
Ahmednagar Amravati Aurangabad Bhandara Chandrapur Dhule Gadchiroli Gondia Hingoli Nanded Nandurbar Yavatmal Manipur Tamenglong Meghalaya South Garo Hills West Garo Hills Mizoram Lawngtlai Saiha Nagaland Mon Orissa Bolangir Boudh Deogarh Dhenkanal Gajapati Ganjam Jharsuguda Kalahandi Tripura Tamil Nadu Sikkim Rajasthan Punjab
Hoshiarpur
Banswara Dungarpur Jhalawar Karauli Sirohi Udaipur
North District
Cuddalore Dindigul Nagapattinam Sivagangai Tiruvannamalai Villupuram
Dhalai
Contd...
44
STATES Uttar Pradesh
DISTRICTS
STATES
DISTRICTS Rae Bareli Sitapur Sonbhadra Unnao
Azamgarh Banda Barabanki Chandauli Chitrakoot Fatehpur Gorakhpur Hamirpur Hardoi Jalaun Jaunpur Kaushambi Kheri Kushi Nagar Lalitpur Mahoba Mirzapur Pratapgarh West Bengal Uttranchal
Chamoli Champawat Tehri Garhwal 24 Parganas South Bankura Birbhum Dinajpur Dakshin Dinajpur Uttar Jalpaiguri Maldah Medinipur West Murshidabad Purulia
45
STATES Andhra Pradesh
DISTRICTS
STATES
DISTRICTS East Champaran
Nellore East Godavari Srikakulam Kurnool Prakasam Guntur Arunachal Pradesh Changlang Lohit Assam Marigaon Darrang Nalbari Barpeta Hailakandi Cachar Bihar Sheikhpura Siwan Khagaria Madhepura Saharsa Sitamarhi West Champaran Banka Bhagalpur Jharkhand J&K Himachal Pradesh Haryana Gujarat Chhattisgarh
Begusarai Gopalganj Buxar Saran Arwal
Korba Janjgir - Champa Mahasamund Raipur
Valsad Bharuch Navsari
Ambala Mewat
Kangra Mandi
Anantnag Jammu
Singhbhum East Deoghar

Contd...
46
STATES Karnataka
DISTRICTS
STATES Manipur
DISTRICTS
Bellary Hassan Chikmagalur Belgaum Shimoga Kodagu Kerala Idukki Kasargod Madhya Pradesh Chhindwara Harda Panna Katni Dewas Guna Rewa Datia Damoh Rajgarh Anuppur Ashok Nagar Burahanpur Maharashtra Thane Wardha Buldhana Osmanabad Akola Washim Rajasthan Punjab Orissa Nagaland Mizoram Meghalaya
Chandel Churachandpur
East Khasi Hills Jaintia Hills Ri Bhoi
Champhai Lunglei
Kohima Mokokchung Tuensang Wokha
Bargarh Anugul Balasore Bhadrak Jajpur
Nawanshahr Jalandhar Amritsar
Tonk Swai Madhopur Chittorgarh Barmer Jalor Jaisalmer

Contd...
47
STATES Sikkim
DISTRICTS
STATES
DISTRICTS Hooghly
East Sikkim South Sikkim Tripura South Tripura West Tripura Tamil Nadu Thanjavur Thiruvarur Tirunelveli Karur Uttarakhand Udham Singh Nagar Haridwar West Bengal Cooch Behar Nadia Barddhaman Medinapur (East) North 24 Parganas Uttar Pradesh
Darjiling
Jhansi Kanpur Dehat Mau Sultanpur Ambedkar Nagar Basti Sant Kabir Nagar Maharajganj Siddharthnagar Bahraich Balrampur Shrawasti Gonda Ballia Budaun Etah Farrukhabad
The remaining 266 districts have been notified on 28th September, 2007 where NREGA will come into force w.e.f. 1st April, 2008. Thus fulfilling the statuary commitment of the present government.
48
NREGA Implementation Status Report for the Financial Year 2007-08 (Till 12th Oct,2007)
Persondays In Lakhs Expentiture In Lakhs Works Works Ongoing Completed Total SCs STs Women Others Funds Available In Lakhs Total Works
S. No.
States
No.of No.of households households who have provided demanded employment employment
1 2585861 NR 539930 1605998 161927 33915 87848 47358 210993 99779 2641259 1063.93 162299 72.64 NR 86729 68490 21836 514329 2973 1774122 2182 732364 371209 1220001 2681351 1178255 863870 75263 245.89 19.34 296.82 471.67 255.83 132.16 109.73 69.25 51.33 5.45 405.96 63.64 221.52 11.48 8.02 26.07 15.86 42.78 187.22 97.22 0.41 996.8 45.62 174.99 0.98 445.81 41.84 1.36 0.59 NR 0.25 619.19 18.95 332.65 35.59 34.27 51.62 185.46 64.26 8.31 1.09 168.95 NR 37.34 1.09 80.57 0.38 101.02 25.03 53.7 0.16 NR 21.34 53.7 6.71 18.87 3.53 NR NR 51.04 0.77 376 2.8 176.42 26.1 107.81 144.31 215.2 97.34 13.48 NR NR NR NR NR 188.25 14.24 543.45 24.47 458.9 29.93 332.22 33.93 196621.86 34131.69 1088.13 4178.29 2076.35 2309.72 56355.42 3858.81 85376.82 1100.06 52441.63 13800.71 66680.72 104847.90 80213.40 66128.15 10350.66 64.66 18.35 20.72 3.6 12.22 2.05 34.44 13.7 31.72 12.71 26657.40 5434.56 9.58 0.52 1.85 0.02 7.21 6427.78 9.89 71.55 6.16 8.43 NR 25.91 3.91 19.12 3.73 37.21 4823.42 8337.46 1314.10 2629.40 219.01 4368.78 2661.52 306.23 51.07 137.93 1.8 10.79 34.13 72.74 36.42 157.51 15.14 100238.18 9713.79 8495.94 4271.56 116.51 10.24 49.45 25.34 56.82 58516.71 10887.64 2063 36904 8537 916 7256 1326 6578 1642 108955.29 110182 401.85 3783 NR NR NR 289.80 20502.80 210.32 60191.52 200.69 32476.85 5919.36 14690.28 13354.69 28598.46 35703.26 2477.16 NR 1565 NR 102 35217 466 23155 58 6620 33312 21147 19983 18460 42300 2655 656.06 NR 192.39 NR 85.25 NR 372.47 NR 378.42 NR 129458.88 105.38 69651.41 273071 NR NR
10
11
12 24016 NR 3631 16058 5085 276 1648 955 4971 2913 38888 923 NR 298 NR NR 8127 NR 5996 100 4525 6982 16112 14415 23231 23892 1657
13 297087 NR 5694 52962 13622 1192 8904 2281 11549 4555 149070 4706 NR 1863 NR 102 43344 466 29151 158 11145 40294 37259 34398 41691 66192 4312
1 2
Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh
2585861 NR
Assam
564399
4 5
Bihar Gujarat
1868614 161927
6 7 47684
Haryana Himachal Pradesh
33917 131590
Jammu and Kashmir
9 Karnataka 1 0 Kerala
211086 104442
1 1 Madhya Pradesh 1 2 Maharashtra NR 86729 68493
2642465 162299
1 3 Manipur
1 4 Meghalaya 1 5 Mizoram
1 6 Nagaland 1 7 Orissa 2973
21835 537129
1 8 Punjab
1 9 Rajasthan 2 0 Sikkim
1784565 2335
2 1 Tamil Nadu 2 2 Tripura
858967 395834
2 3 Uttar Pradesh
1332966
2 4 West Bengal 2 5 Chhattisgarh
2905528 1214374
2 6 Jharkhand 2 7 Uttranchal
873858 75608
49
Total
18675478 17770141 5492.19 1399.27
1811.49 2544.52 2281.42 1131273.877 428471.6915 657298 204699
861997
50

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National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA)

Some Reports from the Field

i ii 1-15 16-22 23-26 27-29 30-40 42-49

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Paradigm Shift in NREGA

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

i) Enabling Articulation of Demand for Employment.

ii) Planning for Works and the Quality of Assets Created

iii) Record of Work Done and Payment of Wages

iv) Vigilance and Transparency

Citizen can check online

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

THE HINDU, Thursday, May 11, 2006

Employment guarantee signs of transformation

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

vi) Grievance Redressal

vii) Strengthening Management Support to NREGA

Guarantee against hunger?

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

viii) Financial Management

Administrative & Technical officials Trained Number

b) Linkages with other Development Programmes:

Demand for Employment Met

Employment Demanded: 2.12 crore HHs Employment Provided:2.10 crore HHs

Employment Demanded (Mar, 2007)

Employment Provided (Mar, 2007)

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Initial Positive Trends

Significant Increase in Person-days Generated

Person-days in crores 4 NREGA in 200 districts (2006-07)

Total Average per District

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Major share of SC/ST HHs in employment generation

SC: 22.95 Crores [25.35%]

Kerala M.P Maharashtra Manipur

Sikkim Tamil nadu Tripura

A.P Ar. P Assam Bihar Gujarat

THE HINDU, Thursday, Nov 02, 2006

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Significant Share of Women in Work Force

Employment provided to women (% age of total employment provided) upto MAR-2007

NREGA Implementation Status Report for the Financial Year 2006-07

Arunachal Pradesh Assam

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Himachal Pradesh J&K

Tripura Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal Chhattisgarh

134363 134312 40.6 10.84 21188894 21016099 9050.56 2295.24

Socio Economic Improvement under NREGA

Wages Earned by Labourers Account for 66% of Total Expenditure

100.0 80.0 60.0 40.0 20.0 0.0

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Talari Yadamma, 45 years, has worked

K. Jangai, 65 years, said, My

Priority to Water Conservation

Any other activitiy

Water Conservation Works

Water Conservation and Water Harvesting 50.3%

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

Water Conservation Works under the NREGA

Micro irrigation works (minor irrigation canals)

District Murshidabad, West Bengal