MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF NATIONAL...

MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF NATIONAL RURAL EMPLOYMENT

GUARANTEE SCHEME WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON

GENDER ISSUES

October 2006

Final Report Based on field visits in June-August 2006

INDIAN SCHOOL OF WOMEN’S STUDIES DEVELOPMENT121, Vithalbhai Patel House, Rafi Marg

New Delhi 110001

ISWSD NREGA Final Report

CONTENTS

Page Nos.

Project Team………………………………………………………...3

Acknowledgments and Abbreviations…………………………….4

Maps………………………………………………………………….5-7

List of Tables…………………………………………………………8

Chapter – I Methodology ………….……………………………………………..9-16

Chapter – II State Schemes……………………………………………………..17-24

Chapter – III District Profile……………………………………………………....25-31

Chapter – IV Demographic And Socio-Economic Profile Of Sample

Households…………………………………………………………32-39

Chapter – V Implementation Of NREGS………………………………….…....40-89

Chapter – VI Conclusion…………………………………………………………..90-92

Summary……………………………………………………….. ..93-104

Appendix of Questionnaires…………………………………………105

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PROJECT TEAM

Research Coordinator

Smita Gupta

State Coordinators

U Vasuki : Tamil Nadu

Shyamali Gupta: West Bengal

Kiran Moghe : Maharashtra

Tapasi Prahraj : Orissa

Advisors

Subhashini Ali

Sudha Sundararaman

Shakti Kak

Jayati Ghosh

Madhura Swaminathan

Research Team

Anindya Moitra Chitra.N

Hari Maya Gurung Prabodhan Bole

Sanjib Kr. Pradhan Santosh Suradkar

Somnath Patra Somo Gurung

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are extremely grateful to Brinda Karat who took deep interest and provided guidance from the very beginning, from conceptualization of the Study to the Final Report. Jayati Ghosh and Subhashini Ali were instrumental in helping us keep the focus and perspective on track.

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Shakti Kak and Indu Agnihotri were generous with their time whenever called upon to provide inputs. Harimaya and Reeja provided the much needed logistical support.

Officials from the Ministry of Rural Development in Delhi were very helpful. State government officials at all levels displayed keen interest in the exercise and the Collectors were usually very prompt in responding to our field reports. We got detailed inputs at our State level consultations from State Government Officials which are reflected in the final report.

Our greatest debt is to our filed investigators and surveyors who painstakingly collected the data in the short time available to them.

ABBREVIATIONSBDO Block Development Officer DDC Deputy Development Commissioner DPC District Program CoordinatorGP Gram PanchayatHHs HouseholdsNFFWP National Food for Work Programme NGOs Non-Governmental OrganisationsNOG National Operational GuidelinesNREGA National Rural Employment Guarantee ActNREGS National Employment Guarantee Schemes PO Programme OfficerPRIs Panchayati Raj Institutions SCs Scheduled Castes SGRY Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar YojanaSTs Scheduled Tribes SHG Self Help Groups

4


5

INDIA

OrissaMaharashtra

Tamil Nadu

West Bengal


6

Nandurbar

Maharashtra

Nanded

Orissa

Sundergarh

Mayurbhanj


7

Tamil Nadu

Viluppuram

Nagapattinam

West Bengal

Midnapur

Bankura


LIST OF TABLESTable No. Title Page No.

1 Allocation in Union Budget on Employment Schemes as % of GSDP 102 Physical Performance of Special Employment and Poverty Alleviation Programmes 113 List of States under NREGA Survey 144 Number of Households Surveyed 155 Demographic Profile of Rural Households (Tamil Nadu) 256 Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas (Tamil Nadu) 267 Selected Characteristics of Women in Rural Areas (Tamil Nadu) 268 Access to Amenities for Rural Households in Percentage (Tamil Nadu) 269 Demographic Profile of Rural Households (Maharashtra) 27

10 Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas (Maharashtra) 2711 Selected Characteristics of Women in Rural Areas (Maharashtra) 2712 Access to Amenities for Rural Households in Percentage (Maharashtra) 2813 Demographic Profile of Rural Households (Orissa) 2814 Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas (Orissa) 2815 Selected Characteristics of Women in Rural Areas (Orissa) 2916 Access to Amenities for Rural Households in Percentage (Orissa) 2917 Demographic Profile of Rural Households (West Bengal) 2918 Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas (West Bengal) 3019 Selected Characteristics of Women in Rural Areas (West Bengal) 3020 Access to Amenities for Rural Households in Percentage (West Bengal) 3121 Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in Maharashtra 3222 Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in West Bengal 3223 Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households Tamil Nadu 3224 Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in Orissa 3325 Distribution of total population by sex 3326 Percentage women workers in various activities 3427 Literacy Rate 3528 Percentage households who are Indebted, Source and Average Debt 3629 Migration Status in Maharashtra 3830 Migration Status in Orissa 3831 Migration Status in Tamil Nadu 3932 Migration Status in West Bengal 3933 Financial Performance under NREGA, 2005-2006 (October) 4134 Sources of Information about NREGA 4435 Percentage of Joint and Nuclear Families 4636 Missing Nuclear/Single Member Households 4737 Size Wise Percentage Distribution of Census Households and Average Household Size 4738 % distribution of hhs by number of eligible members per hhs for employment under NREGS 4839 Eligible households/members of household not registered and reasons thereof 5140 Percentage Households who have received job cards and applied for work 5541 Status of implementation of NREGA during June 2006-07 in Maharashtra 5642 Status of implementation of NREGA during August 2006-07 in Orissa 5743 Status of implementation of NREGA during July 2006-07 in Tamil Nadu 5744 Status of implementation of NREGA during August 2006-07 in West Bengal 5845 Work and Wage in NREGS 6146 Comparative Picture of Schedule of Rates Across States for NREGA 6547 Mode of Wage Payment 6948 Type of Work Selected in Gram Sabha under NREGS (%) 7349 Physical Performance under NREGS 7450 Distance of Worksite and Facilities Provided in Maharashtra 8551 Distance of Worksite and Facilities provided in Orissa 8652 Distance of Worksite and Facilities provided in West Bengal 86

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I.OBJECTIVE AND METHODOLOGY

Background

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is of immense significance in the context

of the widespread rural distress and growing unemployment in the countryside. The legal

entitlement to work marks a transition from a supply-driven to a demand-driven

employment programme.

Context Rural distress was growing rapidly at the time the Act was passed. The growth of

agricultural production fell from 3.5 per cent in the 1980s to 2.0 per cent per annum in

the 1990s (the latest edition of Economic Survey puts it at 1.1 per cent in the last fiscal

year), and real income growth fell from 4.5 to 2.5 per cent per annum over the same

period. By 2001, per capita foodgrain availability had fallen to lower than that in the

1950s. Workforce participation rates in rural areas declined, more for women

than men. The Planning Commission reports a fall in employment growth from 2.04 per

cent during 1983-94 to 0.98 per cent during 1994-2000. Even though this was

accompanied by a deceleration in the rate of growth of the labour force from 2.29 per

cent in 1987-94 to 1.03 per cent in 1993-2000, unemployment has grown since labour

force growth outstrips the growth of employment.

Inadequacy of Preceding Employment Programmes:

NREGA has come after almost 56 years of experience of other rural employment

programmes, which include both Centrally Sponsored Schemes and those launched by

State Governments. These comprise the National Rural Employment Programme

[NREP] 1980-89; Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP) 1983-

89; Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) 1989-99; Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)

1993-99; Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) 1999-2002; Sampoorna Grameen

Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) from 2001; National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP) from

2004 were national rural employment schemes. The SGRY and NFFWP have been

merged with NREGS in 2005. The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MEGS), launched in 1972-73 (the Act was passedin 1977), is an important state

programme.

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Table 1: Allocation in Union Budget on Employment Schemes as % of GSDP

YearRural

Employment

Urban Employment (Swarna Jayanti Sahri

Rojgar Yojana)Total Employment

Generation Programmes1998-99 0.21 0.01 0.221999-00 0.19 0.01 0.202000-01 0.13 0.00 0.142001-02 0.20 0.00 0.202002-03 0.40 0.00 0.402003-04 0.37 0.00 0.372004-05 0.23 0.00 0.232005-06 0.33 0.00 0.342006-07 0.33 0.01 0.33

These programmes have generated much needed wage employment for the

unemployed and poor. However, they have suffered from the following shortcomings:

The allocation of funds is low, and utilization is even lower.

The number of person-days of wage employment provided per family is also very

low, inadequate to help the beneficiaries to derive a sustainable livelihood and

become non-poor.

Minimum wages are not paid due to high productivity norms

There are also huge delays in wage payment.

The worksites are devoid of any facilities

Village level monitoring and vigilance committees are usually not constituted in

most places, which results in very little accountability and transparency

No attention has been given to capacity building of the PRI functionaries and

workers at the village level. Where the works are executed by contractors, the

problem of non-payment of minimum wages and delayed wage payment is even

more severe.

There is a top-down bureaucratic approach and centralized character of

implementation and planning

Women’s participation in planning and works has been low and their tasks at

worksites are invisible, unpaid and subsumed under the overall labour process

These are supply-driven programmes

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Table 2: Physical Performance of Special Employment and Poverty Alleviation Programmes S.

No.Year 1995-96 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06Programmes Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved Target Achieved

A. Programmes in rural areas 1 JGSY/SGRY-II - Mandays of employment generated* 848.01 895.83 - 260.29 - 262.42 - 367.14 - 391.65P - 401.71p* 2 EAS/SGRY-I- Mandays of employment generated** - 346.53 259.5 218.39 339.2 260.55 - 381.15 - 372.83P -

B. Programmes in Urban Areas 1 NRY (a) Families assisted 0.12 0.13$

Subsumed under SJSRY in December 1997 (b) Mandays of employment generated 11.45 9.30$ (c )Persons trained 0.06 0.07$

2 PMRY-(I) Micro enterprises@ 0.26@ 0.299 0.22 0.19 0.22 0.19 0.22 0.19 0.22 0.12P (II) Employment generated $ 0.52@ 0.437 0.30 0.28 0.30 0.28 0.3 0.29 0.3 0.18P

II UWEP-mandays of employment generated. - 15.87 - 28.73^ - 3.13 - 4.56 - 51.34 25.19-: Targets are not fixed, ^: Cumulative information since it is a continuous process, @: Including backlog, $: Estimated at the rate of 2 per case disbursed for the concerned programme year, P: Provisional*: SGRY I and SGRY II schemes have been merged into a single scheme of SGRY w.e.f. 1-4-2004, **: Cummulative Figure, #: Upto November, 2004^ Cummulative information since it is a common processSource: Economic Survey Series from 1997-98 to 2005-06

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Features:

The Act guarantees each rural household a hundred days of manual work within a five kilometer

radius on a casual basis each year. The household and those of their adult members who are

willing to perform casual manual labour are required to register with the relevant authority, and

to apply for work, each time specifying the period and timing of work. Though for the moment

they will be paid the minimum wage fixed by the State Governments for agricultural labourers,

the Centre has the power to notify wages under the Act, provided these are no lower than Rs

60. A failure to provide work within 15 days of application would require the state governments

to pay an unemployment allowance to the worker, which is at least one-fourth of the wage rate

for the first thirty days and not less than one-half of the wage rate for the remaining period.

Some minimal worksite and welfare facilities will be provided by way of a crèche, safe drinking

water, first-aid, hospitalization in case of injury, ex-gratia payment, etc. At the same time, if a

worker does not show up for work after application, she will not be entitled to the unemployment

allowance for the period of absence. There is also a 33 per cent preference for

.

Expected outcome:

Investments made under NREGA are expected to generate employment and purchasing power,

improve the quality of life, raise economic productivity, promote women’s participation in the

workforce, strengthen rural infrastructure, reduce distress migration, and regenerate natural

resources.

An expansion in employment through government expenditure will increase the demand for

wage goods, resulting in an increase in the production of industrial goods of mass consumption

and agricultural output. Thus, the NREGA can not only generate employment but also catalyze

economic growth. The NREGS will be a part of the solution to the agrarian crisis in at least three

ways. First, by generating demand for wage goods, which include food and local artisanal

products; second, by creating complementary infrastructure and assets for agriculture like

roads, biomass, etc.; third, by increasing incomes of most farming households since it is rare to

find pure agriculturalists in most of rural India, and at the lower and middle ends of the scale,

they double up as (often migrant) wage labour and artisans. Maharashtra’s experience confirms

that even as poor labour households experience increase in incomes and a decline in distress

out-migration, the landed benefit from the infrastructure created under the Scheme.


Challenges:

Since this programme is demand driven it is extremely important that there be an appropriate

mechanism for demand estimation. This has three components, namely, registration and

application; mobilization of workers to assess demand for work; and the planning process.

Since most of the works under the programme are likely to be earth works, the payment of

minimum wages requires piece rate payment in a manner that is both fair and transparent,

which is another very important issue.

There is today a huge deficit in women’s access to employment at minimum wages and social

development. From the gender perspective, the NREGS holds great promise especially with its

Clause for protecting women’s access to the Scheme through proactive inclusion.

Operationalizing this at the ground level however poses a great challenge. A further issue is the

ability of different agencies to respond quickly and effectively in generating employment. Apart

from timely availability of funds, this involves the empowerment of PRIs as well as a broad-

based identification of works in line with the Act. Another very important issue is the monitoring,

grievance redressal and social audit mechanism. Besides these, there are several other

problems that need to be identified and checked through a certain amount of initial nurturing and

hand holding in the teething stages.

Objectives:

Analyzing women

’s access (inclusion and exclusion) to the Scheme

Assessing the State Schemes vis avis the NREGA and National Guidelines

Documenting the existing socio-economic profile and labour market conditions of female

rural workers

Working with women’s organizations to assist state governments to design gender

sensitive works that address both the practical and strategic gender needs that are

compatible with the NREGA

Mobilizing women’s organizations to provide inputs for greater gender-sensitivity in the

NREGS

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Evaluating the Scheme’s flexibility in dealing with the requirements of women (esp. the

elderly, the malnourished and the disabled) in location-specific and seasonal

requirements

Examining the intra-family distribution of the work entitlement and designing strategies to

address the emergent conflicts over women’s rights and access to work

Looking closely at the wages paid and the norms and procedures for measurement, task

enumeration, piece rates and productivity norms under time rate

Identifying women’s work and specific tasks that remain invisible under piece rate

Appraising changes if any in the attitude of officials through the inculcation of an

administrative ethos that can implement a gender-sensitive demand-driven scheme

This study was conducted on behalf of the Ministry of Rural Development with support from

UNDP in over 4 selected villages in two districts each of four states of West Bengal, Tamil

Nadu, Orissa and Maharashtra. The districts studied are Sundergarh and Mayurbhanj in

Orissa, Bankura and Medinipur in West Bengal, Villupuram and Nagipattinam in Tamil Nadu

and Nanded and Nandurbar in Maharashtra.

Table 3: List of States under NREGA SurveyState/District Block VillageMAHARASHTRANanded

MahurHardap

SayphalNandurbar Dhadgaon Telkhadi

ShahadaDara

Chinchora (Dara)ORISSASundergarh Gurindia Jharbeda Bisra JagadaMayurbhanj

RasagobindapurKanthi

Bodhimoha Udala BahubandhaTAMIL NADUNagapattinam Tharagambadi Iluppur Keelvelur KeelaiyurVilluppuram

UlundurpettaiKalamarudur

Kumaramangalam

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List of States under NREGA Survey (contd.)State/District Block VillageWEST BENGALBankura

Bankura 2Tantramali

Duaranda

Bikna 2

Salboni Kalajaria Sona Daha Hariyargara

Khatra

Benia Baid Kankradara Jamda Daskshin Baid VeduaMidnapur Shalbani Karnagar

Kespur

Chowkigata Jamboni Tasar Ara(N) North Tarpara

Table 4: Number of Households SurveyedTamil Nadu 200Orissa 200West Bengal 270Maharashtra 350

Available information on workforce and other socio-economic aspects on these areas from the

Census are presented as background to the field studies. We must state at the outset that there

is a sample bias, since purposive random sampling basically picked landless/marginal farmers

who are NREGS beneficiaries

The Information was collected as follows:

a) State Capital Interviews with Relevant Officers in Rural Development

Examination of State Scheme and Guidelines

b) District HQs Interviews with officials like the District Programme Co-ordinator, and Collector

Collection of relevant information on the progress of the Scheme

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c) Block Interview with Programme Officer, local officials and panchayat representatives,

NGOs, political party representatives, etc

Seminar at Block office

d) Worksite visits

e) Village Focus group discussions with women, dalits, etc. with a semi-structured questionaire

Consultation with registered women workers

Meetings with community leaders, elected panchayat representatives and Panchayat

Secretaries

Selection of at least 40-50 sample households per village through purposive

sampling of rural labour and small peasant HHs

Detailed household interviews to collect both qualitative as well as quantitative

information with a total of at least 50 households per village

Case studies and profiles of selected women

f) Compilation and analysis of relevant secondary data

The survey was conducted on the basis of a common questionnaire translated into the 4

regional languages. The household survey included questions on the household (members,

gender, education, employment, debt, assets, migration, etc.); awareness and experience with

NREGS in terms of job cards, registration, work, etc. The worksite questionnaire probed details

like facilities, wages, muster rolls, mode of payment, work organization, use of machinery,

contractors, etc. and information on the level of awareness about the NREGA as well as

experience with earlier wage employment programmes and preferred mode of payment.

Government functionaries responsible for implementation were interviewed, including all BDOs

and most DMs. These formats dealt largely with difficulties faced by the administration-staffing,

finances, etc. Questionnaires for Elected Panchayat Representatives were on planning,

organization of work, technical support, issue of work orders, etc. See appendix for full

questionnaires.

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II. STATE SCHEMES

West Bengal

West Bengal notified its state scheme on the 2nd February 2006. The State Employment

Guarantee Council has not been constituted yet but is due shortly. In the Scheme, BDOs have

been designated as Programme Officers and Collectors are District Programme Co-ordinators.

Mobilization and RegistrationThe household is not defined as a nuclear family in accordance with the NOG and the common

kitchen definition is used. The Scheme allows the PO to waive the requirement for photographs

if the circumstances require, and a Campaign is to be held for registration by setting up village

camps to mobilize and assist applicants. The Census system of coding for unique household

IDs is to be followed. The Scheme suggests that voter IDs or ration cards may be used for ease

in verification. There is no provision for individual cards, only for individual ID numbers.

The Scheme encourages the Gram Panchayat, Gram Unnayan Samiti, NGOs, Self Help Groups

and community based organizations to mobilize advance applications, if required, through a “a

door-to-door campaign.” For employment beyond 5 kms, women and older persons should be

given preference in closer sites and the implementing agency shall make makeshift staying

arrangements in worksites beyond 5 kilometers.

PlanningThe greatest strength of the West Bengal Scheme lies in its attention to planning and

implementation details, worked out in a practical, strategic and simple manner. There is a great

deal of administrative forethought. There is focus on integrated local area planning through

convergence and dovetailing with other Schemes and programmes. Gram Panchayat are to

lead in the identification, prioritization and planning of works with technical support from the PO

and DPC. At the same time, other implementing agencies are encouraged to prepare proposals

that are broken up at the Gram Panchayat level. The GP has the principal voice in selection and

prioritization of works. The attempt is to use existing local and village institutions which are

already active and equipped in the State . The Gram Unnayan Samiti or beneficiary Committees

are authorized to undertake social audit, monitoring and evaluation as per the NREGA.

17


The role of the Livelihood Development Officer, the Executive Assistant, Nirman Sahayak/Job

Assistant, Secretary of the Gram Panchayat and other staff is clearly worked out. In anticipation

of the huge requirement for technical staff, the Scheme works out delegation of some technical

powers to the Nirman Sahayak.

The State intends to take forward decentralized planned development through the WBREGS.

The list of permissible works has been well laid out and expanded to cover whatever space

exists within the Act. The watershed approach is to be adopted for all works to the extent

practicable, and districts are encouraged to prepare detailed plans in a decentralized fashion.

Durable community assets like playgrounds, village markets, housing layouts are permitted, as

are works that enhance water retention in private tanks, provided these are used for community

purposes, which will be verified by the Gram Panchayat.

Unemployment Allowance

However, in 10(2), there is a clear conflict between the creation of durable physical assets

through earthworks and a demand driven employment guarantee programme: “The Gram

Panchayat shall except in extraordinary circumstances such as high rainfall, floods, water logging and other natural calamities to the extent that earthwork related employment cannot

be provided in large quantity, be responsible for issuing letter informing allotment of work...” It is

perhaps the narrowly defined list of works that effectively limits the programme in much of this

high rainfall state during the monsoons. A further indication of dilution of the guarantee in the

rainy season is 8(a) which allows the liability to pay unemployment allowance to cease under

these circumstances.

BDOs are extremely wary of encouraging applications or implementing the unemployment

clause since they consider 11 (5) as a veiled threat for disciplinary action if there is non-

provision of employment. “In all cases where unemployment allowance is due to be paid, the

Programme Officer shall inform the District Programme Coordinator in writing the reasons why it

was not possible to provide employment to the applicant within eleven days of receiving

application. The District Programme Coordinator shall in turn bring this to the notice of the State

Government along with the reasons. The State Government would then examine this and if the

reasons are not satisfactory the State Government may initiate suitable action against the defaulters.”

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Wages

Section 19 clearly states that minimum wages shall be paid, but Section 19 puts a rider to this:

“However, the labourers shall be expected to turnout the quantity of work required as per the

existing schedule of rates. When the quantity of work turned out by the labourers /group of

labourers is more than the quantity of work calculated as per the minimum wages payable to

them, then the wages shall be directly linked with the quantity of work done, calculated as per

the schedule of rates and the higher wages shall be paid accordingly. Similarly lower quantum of work will lead to payment of proportionately lower wage.” It is better to bring this in

conformity with the Act and clearly state that under no circumstances shall the labourers be paid

less than the wage rate, and towards this the schedule of rates of wages for unskilled labourers

shall be so fixed that a person working for seven hours would normally earn the wage rate.

A very good provision is that “In no case the private individuals be engaged as the paymasters.”

Tamil Nadu

At the time of writing, we did not have a copy of the final TN Scheme, nor was it available on the

internet. Our comments are therefore based on the Government Orders number 10 dated 1-2-

2006 of Rural Development Department, Tamil Nadu and discussions with Secretary Rural

Development, Government of Tamil Nadu. The PRIs will play a crucial role in planning,

implementing and monitoring the Scheme in Tamil Nadu. The financial pattern proposed by the

state is 50:25:25 between the Gram:Block:District level panchayats along SGRY lines. The GO

does allow Gram Panchayats to either execute the works themselves or handover the works for

execution to the line department/ Self Help Groups, if necessary.

The Tamil Nadu Government Orders allow for an individual or household application for

registration to the local Gram Panchayat. Oral applications for Registration are also accepted and any person may appear in person and make an oral request for registration. The President of the Gram Panchayat and the Block Programme Officer are

required to arrange for converting the oral request into a written application. The household is

correctly defined as a nuclear family comprising mother, father and their children, specifically

including single parent/single member households. There is also a special provision for

migrants, who are required to apply on the basis of certificates from the Village Administrative

19


Officer / Village Panchayat President of their native place or on the basis of the job card

received from their native panchayats.

One of the most positive aspects of the Tamil Nadu GO is the provision for the issue of individual job cards to all registered applicants.

Under 4(iii), the payment of minimum wages is subject to the out-turn of work as determined by

the schedule of rural rates. However, even though the State Scheme does not so specify, the

government has taken the commendable step to revise the schedule of rural rates in such a way

that workers can earn the minimum wage.

However, there is no ban on contractors in the Government Order.

The government has issued an order to ensure a high threshold level and large works since

they argue that will make monitoring easier by reducing the number of worksites. They have

placed a lower limit of Rs 3 lakhs. This is not a good idea, most likely to come in the way of speedy generation of employment and small local works. Furthermore, this will only

increase the existing focus on road connectivity and irrigation works.

Orissa

The BDO is designated as the Programme Officer at the Panchayat Samiti level and the District

Magistrate the District Programme Coordinator.

The Orissa Rural Employment Scheme places Panchayat Raj Institutions at the centre stage of

the Scheme. A household is clearly defined as nuclear, in accordance with the NOG. It intends

to implement the scheme through the Panchayati Raj Institutions, primarily the Gram

Panchayats, with the Palli Sabha and Gram Sabha central in the identification of the projects

and preparation of the Action Plans. There are strong provisions for continuous social audit.

The verification process is unnecessarily complicated and requires documentary evidence for

age, local residence and household entity. This is not in conformity with the NREGA. The Gram

Panchayat is required to refer to the electoral rolls of the GP, scrutinize voter ID card and/or

other evidences of the applicant and register on satisfaction about local residence, household

entity and age. Photographs are compulsory on the single job-cards for each household.

20


The purpose behind the intimation to applicants is that they know when and where to report for

work. Therefore, the emphasis should be on information on the notice board in the village of

residence and Gram Panchayats rather than only the offices of implementing agencies, esp. for

Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishad1, as is presently provided in the OEGS.

The Scheme also relaxes the requirement of at least 50 applicants for starting a new work. In

case of exigency, the Programme Officer can order starting of a new work when approached by

20 job seekers with prior approval of District Programme Coordinator. It also clarifies that this

restriction will not apply in hilly areas and afforestation works.

Though Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and Gram Panchayats have been declared as

principal authorities for planning and implementation and contractors are banned, they can

execute these works through Line Departments/reputed NGOs/Self Help Groups/Other Central

or State Government Agencies, etc. However, no clear procedure or criteria is laid out for the

selection of NGOs or SHGs.

It says that additional staff will be hired. In each Gram Panchayat, one Technical Assistant and

in a cluster of GPs one Data Entry-cum-Accounting Assistant will be deployed on contract basis,

and paid out of the programme fund. At the Block level, a Chartered Accountant can be out-

sourced on contract basis and an Officer with technical qualification and computer knowledge

can be deployed along with other logistic/infrastructure support such as vehicle, computer,

phone, etc.

An important suggestion is the convergence with social sector programmes with OREGS to

provide the benefits of those programmes to the beneficiaries of Employment Guarantee

Scheme. “The work site can become a nodal point for linkage of welfare activities like enlisting

in SHGs, insurance and so on by other departments so that the client-group of OREGS get

maximum welfare support.”

Like the other states, here too the labourers are “expected to turn out the quantity of works

required as per the schedule of rates fixed by the State Government to be eligible for minimum

wage while working diligently for seven hours a day” (emphasis added). The insertion of the

1Sch II ( 22. “A list of persons who are provided with the work shall be displayed on the notice board of the Gram Panchayat and at the office of the Programme Officer and at such other places as the Programme Officer may deem necessary and the list shall be open for inspection by the State Government and any person interested.”

21


word “diligently” is not in conformity with the NREGA and was in fact deleted from the Bill that

was originally tabled by the Minister through an official amendment. This was in response to the

objection that it introduces an element of discretion and arbitrariness in operationalization:

precisely what would indicate ‘diligence’?

The strong point in the Scheme is that in 14 (3 & 4) it makes the State Government responsible

to ensure the payment of minimum wages by reflecting Schedule 1 (7 and 8) of the NREGA

more fully: “Measurement of work and productivity norms for all the listed tasks under piece rate

works for the different local conditions of soil, slope and geo-morphological (geological, soil and

slope/landform) conditions should be devised in such a way that normal work for 7 hours results

in earnings of minimum wage. The State Government, (based) on work time and motion studies,

as per which execution of projects under the Scheme/Act will be carried on, may prescribe a

Works Manual & Rural Schedule of Rates for districts.” Though it state explicitly that when the

quantity of works turned out is more than the norm for minimum wages, higher wages shall be

paid, is silent on the quantum of wage payment if the outturn is less.

There are no procedures regarding the system of wage payment: in accordance with 23(4), this

should be in public and in prescribed manner2. There is also no safeguard against delayed

payments, nor is there a prescribed manner for compensation3, nor are private parties debarred

from making payments. It also mandates wage payment partly in grain, depending on

availability of grains, with at least 25% cash component. This is a positive step for household

food security.

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra Employment Guarantee Act has been in existence since 1977, while the

NREGA was passed in September 2005. Section 284 of the NREGA provides that if there is

already a State law that provides an employment guarantee consistent with the provisions of

NREGA and the conditions of employment are not inferior to the Central Act, the same

Government can implement its own Act. In keeping with this provision, after the passage of

NREGA, the Government of Maharashtra took a decision to amend its Act of 1977 such that

2 “23 (4) All payments of wages in cash and unemployment allowances shall be made directly to the person concerned and in presence of independent persons of the community on pre-announced dates.”

3 Sch. II (30.) “In case the payment of wages is not made within the period specified under the Scheme, the labourers shall be entitled to receive payment of compensation as per the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936).”

22


those provisions that are inconsistent with NREGA are removed and the essential features of

the Central Act are accommodated within it. Accordingly, the Maharashtra Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme, 2006 has been formulated and put into place since January 2006. It is to

be fully applicable to the notified NREGA districts and substantially applicable to all remaining

districts and ‘C’ class Municipal areas.

The scheme covers all adult persons who register for work who are local residents in the Gram

Panchayat area and willing to do unskilled manual work. There is also a provision for a person

who is above 15 years of age and is the sole earning member of her household. The open-

ended universal and individual entitlement is for every adult, without any upper limit on the

number of days. 90 per cent of the cost of 100 days per nuclear household will be borne by the

central government as per the NREGA, and the cost of the additional districts, days of work

beyond 100 days per household and ‘C’ class Municipal areas will be met by the State

Government. The Scheme is therefore far wider than the NREGA both in geographical coverage

and entitlements.

For mobilizing applications, in addition to the Gram Sabha a door-to-door survey is also to be

undertaken to identify those willing to register for employment. The team is supposed to include

the Sarpanch, SC/ST and women members of the Gram Panchayat, the Gram Sevak and

Talathi. Besides the household job card with photographs, individual identity cards are also to

be given to each registered applicant of the family.

Apart from the list of permissible works included in the NREGA, the MREGS provides for

“Individual beneficiary schemes (viz. Jawahar wells, horticulture, sericulture, social forestry) and

any other work the State Government may have taken up under its EGS.”

In districts not notified under NREGA, the Zilla Panchayats and line departments will continue to

be the implementation agencies, and the threetier administrative structure, with the Collector

and Tehsildar will be in charge at the district and block level respectively.

Wages are to be paid on a piece rate basis “according to the quantity of work done on the

basis of rates for different items so fixed that an average person working diligently for 7 hours a

day will earn equal to the minimum wage prescribed for agricultural labour for the area under

the Minimum Wage Act until separate minimum wages are fixed for the scheme.” As already

23


mentioned, the word “diligently” is in contradiction with the NREGA, which also states that

nothing justifies non-payment of minimum wages.

The administration is expected to keep a watch on the average wages earned under the task-

based systems and if necessary the schedule of rates can be revised to ensure that the

earnings are near the wage rate. The average wage earned in the district is to be brought to the

notice of the State ECS Council on an annual basis. However, there is no explicit mention of

time and motion studies.

Wages are to be paid within 15 days after closure of the fortnightly muster, which might imply

payment after 30 days of work and therefore violates the NREGA. Worksites facilities such as

medical aid, drinking water, shed and crèche if there are more than 5 children below 6 years of

age are to be provided by the implementing agencies.

Some of the permissible benefits are higher than in the Central Act. Ex-gratia payment of Rs

50,000 is provided for death of a worker on site. There is also provision for a disability benefit

for workers and accompanying children. There is a provision for maternity benefit if the woman

worker has worked continuously for 75 days before her delivery, at the rate of a day’s wages for

every 5 days fro a maximum of 150 days. If she undergoes a tubectomy she is entitled to 14

days of paid leave, this is 7 days for male undergoing vasectomy. The state government will

pay for any facilities not covered in NREGA.

24


III. DISTRICT PROFILE

1. Tamil Nadu

As compared to the rest of the state, the selected districts are predominantly rural with a higher

than average rural population. There is also a high concentration of Scheduled Caste

population. The employment situation is grim, with a relatively higher percentage of marginal

workers in the workforce. Agriculture dependence is high, predominantly in the agricultural

labour and marginal cultivator categories. WPR4 is lower for women everywhere. Female

marginal workers are a third of the female workforce, a sign of high disguised unemployment.

This is far higher than for men in the same districts and for women in the state. A very high

percentage of female workers depend on agricultural labour in the selected districts, which

makes the NREGS a very important policy instrument to address the high underemployment

and unemployment.

Table 5: Demographic Profile of Rural Households

Name of State/Districts

% Rural Households

Average Size of Rural

Households% Rural

Population % SC % STSC+ ST %

Sex Ratio

Literacy Rate

Persons Male FemaleTAMIL NADU 58 4.22 55.96 23.79 1.58 25.37 992 58.19 67.51 48.79Viluppuram 87 4.65 85.58 29.23 2.43 31.66 983 53.20 63.40 42.82Nagapattinam 80 4.26 77.82 34.48 0.14 34.62 1011 64.88 72.62 57.21Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

Nagapattinam has a low workforce participation rate, largely due to the abysmally low

participation of women. The dependence of non-workers on workers is high. The district’s

performance on the literacy front is better than the state, and the gender ratio is higher and

favourable to women.

Table 6: Workforce Characteristics in Rural AreasName of State/Districts Workforce Participation Rate %Others

4 The activity status is conventionally defined in terms of workforce (WF). Workforce is the economically active population working in the different work categories/economic activities for income. The labour force includes the unemployed as well, that is, those working and those seeking work. The population that is neither working nor seeking work are ‘non-workers’. Most people are involved in more than one economic activity, and their occupational status has to be determined by taking principal and subsidiary occupations into account.

25


% Main Worker

% Total Agricultural

Labour +Marginal

Cultivators

% Agriculture Dependent Population

% Household

Based Occupation

% Marginal

WorkPersons Male FemaleTAMIL NADU 50.28 59.10 41.40 81.38 44.94 70.09 4.82 25.10 18.62Viluppuram 51.21 58.21 44.10 76.71 52.93 83.97 2.32 13.71 23.29Nagapattinam 41.51 56.34 26.84 77.95 62.83 74.77 1.90 23.33 22.05Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The gender ratio is lower and adverse to women in Viluppuram, as is the literacy rate. WPR is a

little above the state average, Agriculture dependence is higher on account of the ‘cultivator’

category.

Table 7: Selected Characteristics of Women in Rural Areas

Name of State/District Literacy Rate

Sex Ratio

SC Sex Ratio

ST Sex Ratio

Workforce Participation Rate

% Main Workers

% Cultivators

% Agriculture Labour

% Household based Occupation

% Others

% Marginal Worker

TAMIL NADU 48.79 992 998 977 41.40 72.95 24.22 54.06 6.88 14.84 27.05Viluppuram 42.82 983 985 980 44.10 66.10 26.53 63.66 2.61 7.21 33.90Nagapattinam 57.21 1011 1004 964 26.84 65.91 9.12 78.13 2.59 10.16 34.09Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

Table 8: Access to Amenities for Rural Households in Percentage

Name of State/DistrictGood & Livable

Households

Permanent Houses

Non-Serviceable Households

Semi Permanent & Serviceable Households

Water Away from

Home5

Households without

Water and Electricity

Households without Drinking Water,

Electricity and Latrines

Rural Households

Availing Banking Services

TAMIL NADU 99 47 4 49 13 5 5 18Viluppuram 99 33 5 62 14 5 4 17Nagapattinam 99 34 8 57 11 6 6 22Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

Even though 99 per cent of the households occupy livable houses, only a third are permanent.

Furthermore, over a tenth of the households have to traverse a distance of 500 metres to get

water for the household. On both the quality of houses and access to drinking water, the two

Tamil Nadu districts have better attainments than the other districts in our entire selection. Only

a fifth of the households avail banking services.

2. Maharashtra

Table 9: Demographic Profile of Rural Households% SC % ST Literacy Rate

5 For households living in rural areas, the type of drinking water source is considered ‘Away’, if they have to cover a distance of more than 500 metres to fetch the drinking water.

26



% Rural Households


Households% Rural

PopulationSC+ ST %

Sex Ratio Persons Male Female

MAHARASHTRA 58 4.99 57.57 10.93 13.42 24.35 960 59.73 69.26 49.79Nandurbar 86 5.29 84.55 2.57 74.71 77.28 986 41.75 50.58 32.79Nanded 78 5.33 76.04 18.56 10.19 28.75 947 53.66 65.08 41.60Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

While Nandurbar is a predominantly tribal district, Nanded has an above-average Scheduled

Caste population. The average size of rural households is more than the state average, and

literacy rates are below the state average. Literacy performance is particularly poor in

Nandurbar. Though adverse for women everywhere, the sex ratio is on the whole unfavorable in

Nanded on account of low ratios for all social categories like Scheduled Castes and Scheduled

Tribes.

Table 10: Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas



% Main Worker


Labour +Marginal

Cultivators

% Marginal Agricultural

Labour+ Marginal

Cultivators


% Household

Based Occupation %Others

% Marginal

WorkPersons Male FemaleMAHARASHTRA 48.88 53.93 43.61 80.16 43.73 17.01 80.27 2.27 17.45 19.84Nandurbar 49.62 52.75 46.43 73.31 56.95 25.11 89.04 1.48 9.48 26.69Nanded 46.20 50.38 41.79 78.71 51.95 18.84 84.97 2.20 12.83 21.29Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

WPR is much lower for women, and the proportion of marginal women workers is far higher

than men. Dependence on agricultural work is high and above the state average, and a higher

proportion of working women engage in agricultural labour than men.



Sex Ratio

SC Sex Ratio

ST Sex Ratio


% Main Workers

% Cultivators



% Others

% Marginal Worker

MAHARASHTRA 49.79 960 958 979 43.61 69.89 42.52 47.44 2.48 7.56 30.11Nandurbar 32.79 986 967 1011 46.43 60.67 29.88 64.13 1.53 4.46 39.33Nanded 41.60 947 952 958 41.79 66.83 34.06 57.79 2.63 5.52 33.17Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001



Households

Permanent Houses


Semi Permanent &

Serviceable Households

Water Away from

Home

Households without


Households without

Drinking Water,


Rural Households


MAHARASHTRA 94 40 4 56 17 9 8 39Nandurbar 98 11 6 83 13 10 9 17

27


Nanded 91 46 5 49 23 15 14 34Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The backwardness of Nandurbar is further underlined by the predominantly kutcha housing.

Nanded has a more serious crisis of access to water.

3. Orissa



% Rural Households


Households% Rural

Population % SC % STSC+ ST

%

Sex Ratio

Literacy Rate

Persons Male FemaleORISSA 86 4.73 85.01 17.19 24.61 41.80 987 50.86 61.80 39.77Sundargarh 67 4.57 65.63 8.56 66.41 74.96 994 46.68 56.87 36.42Mayurbhanj 94 4.69 93.00 7.47 59.51 66.98 986 41.16 52.93 29.23Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The selected districts have a very high concentration of Scheduled Tribes, though a smaller

Scheduled Caste population as compared to the state average. This is in keeping with the well

known demographic feature that their areas of concentration are different: the SCs in the plains

and the STs in the hilly areas. Overall, the STs and SCs together account for over 66 per cent of

the total population in these districts.



Sex Ratio

SC Sex Ratio

ST Sex Ratio


% Main Workers

% Cultivators



% Others

% Marginal Worker

ORISSA 39.77 987 983 1006 27.12 33.10 21.20 56.55 8.58 13.67 66.90Sundargarh 36.42 994 999 1009 39.22 30.87 28.89 56.76 2.48 11.87 69.13Mayurbhanj 29.23 986 994 996 41.97 36.19 16.57 49.31 24.95 9.17 63.81Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The gender ratio is favourable for women amongst tribals, and in Sundargarh it exceeds the

state average. Literacy rates are abysmally low, especially amongst women. WPRs are higher

than the state average, but so is the percentage of marginal workers. Higher WPRs for women

compared to the state average reflect the inverse relationship between development and female

WPR — underdeveloped areas have higher female WPRs than elsewhere (though lower than

male WPRs). Women have lower participation in the workforce than men, and women marginal

workers are extremely high. The percentage of cultivators is higher than the state average of 33

per cent of the workforce in Sundergarh, which is not unusual in tribal areas.

Table 15: Workforce Characteristics in Rural AreasName of State/Districts Workforce Participation Rate %Others

28


% Main

Worker


Labour +Marginal

Cultivators


Labour+ Marginal

Cultivators


% Household

Based Occupation

% Marginal

WorkPersons Male FemaleORISSA 40.23 53.17 27.12 64.13 45.50 29.16 72.45 5.11 22.44 35.87Sundargarh 46.60 53.92 39.22 56.62 49.72 38.39 77.43 2.43 20.14 43.38Mayurbhanj 47.39 52.75 41.97 58.72 45.81 29.01 69.25 15.04 15.71 41.28Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001



Households

Permanent Houses


Semi Permanent &


Water Away from

Home

Households without


Households without

Drinking Water,


Rural Households


ORISSA 90 22 6 73 32 28 28 20Sundargarh 95 24 0 76 31 28 28 20Mayurbhanj 91 10 3 87 39 36 36 24Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The access to basic amenities is very poor, and this is clearly a very backward part of one of

India’s poorest states. Very few people live in permanent houses, and access to drinking water

and power is denied to about 36 per cent of the rural households in Mayurbhanj.

4. West Bengal



% Rural Households


Households% Rural

Population % SC % STSC+ ST %

Sex Ratio

Literacy Rate

Persons Male FemaleWEST BENGAL 71 5.12 72.03 26.88 7.16 34.05 950 53.40 61.66 44.71Bankura 92 5.29 92.63 31.91 11.13 43.04 952 52.94 64.69 40.58Medinipur 89 5.28 89.76 16.84 8.98 25.82 957 63.08 71.93 53.84Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The selected districts are more rural than West Bengal as a whole, with an above – average ST

population and a high SC population in Bankura. Though adverse to women, the gender ratio is

marginally better than the state average. The performance in literacy is better than the state

average in Medinipur, but female literacy lags behind everywhere.

Overall and female WPRs are above the state average, though predictably lower than male.

Marginal workers are higher as a proportion than the state, reflecting a higher pent up demand

for work. Though agriculture dependence is higher than the state average, it is lower than the

rest of the sample districts of Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.

29


Table 18: Workforce Characteristics in Rural Areas



% Main Worker


Labour +Marginal

Cultivators


Labour+ Marginal

Cultivators


% Household Based

Occupation %Others

% Marginal

WorkPersons Male FemaleWEST BENGAL 37.90 54.09 20.86 73.58 38.05 17.74 58.60 7.85 33.55 26.42Bankura 45.58 57.05 33.53 64.81 46.33 26.73 69.75 5.56 24.69 35.19Medinipur 39.94 54.96 24.26 65.70 42.40 24.81 64.34 7.83 27.82 34.30Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The proportion of marginal workers in women is amongst the highest in these West Bengal

districts. Underemployment is obviously high, especially in women. There is far greater

livelihood diversification in West Bengal with a high dependence on work in the ‘others’

category. Household based occupations too seem more important in West Bengal.



Sex Ratio

SC Sex Ratio

ST Sex Ratio


% Main Workers

% Cultivators



% Others

% Marginal Worker

WEST BENGAL 44.71 950 953 984 20.86 43.52 16.81 38.43 17.94 26.82 56.48Bankura 40.58 952 967 984 33.53 36.04 22.34 50.12 9.29 18.25 63.96Medinipur 53.84 957 966 977 24.26 34.30 21.53 41.05 17.00 20.41 65.70Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

The SC, ST and overall gender ratio in West Bengal is adverse for women in each category and

district.



Households

Permanent Houses


Semi Permanent &


Water Away from

Home

Households without


Households without

Drinking Water,


Rural Households


WEST BENGAL 90 25 8 68 20 18 15 28Bankura 91 19 2 79 24 20 19 37Medinipur 89 15 8 77 28 24 20 34Source: Primary Census Abstract, Census of India 2001

Less than a fifth of the houses are permanent, and 20-24 per cent of the households do not

have access to power and drinking water. In fact, the development status of these districts is

very low and comparable to the Orissa districts.

30


IV. DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILE OF SAMPLE HOUSEHOLDS

The survey was based on purposive sampling, capturing the situation of the poorer landless and

small landowning working people. In the highly stratified society of rural Tamil Nadu, our sample

comprised the Dalits and most backward castes. In West Bengal, Orissa and Maharashtra, our

sample comprised largely of Adivasis, Dalits and other depressed castes.

Table 21: Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in MaharashtraDistrict Nanded NandurbarVillage Hardap Sayphal Chinchora Dara TelkhediCaste General - 6 - - -OBC 9 - - - -ST 72 16 100 100 100SC 19 53 - - -Muslims - 25 - - -Total 100 100 100 100 100

Table 22: Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in West BengalCaste Percentage Caste Percentage

Midnapur BankuraUpper Caste 13 General 2 General 8OBC 5 OBC 2ST 73 ST 22SC 7 SC 68Total 100 Total 100

Table 23: Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households Tamil NaduDistrict Villuppuram NagapattinamVillage Kalamaruthur Kumaramangalam Illupur KeelaiyurCaste OBC - - - 8MBC - - - 6SC 100 100 100 86Total 100 100 100 100Note: MBC: Major Backward Class

Table 24: Castewise Percentage Distribution of Households in OrissaDistrict Mayurbhanj Sundergarh

31


Village Kanthi Bodhimoha Bahubandha Jharbeda JagadaCaste General 2 - - - 2OBC 33 4 - 16 2SC 47 42 - 16 2ST 18 52 100 67 94Other - 2 - - -Total 100 100 100 100 100

The gender ratio is generally more favourable to women in tribal areas, and even in the Dalit

dominated villages in Villupuram, it was high.

Table 25: Distribution of total population by sexTamil Nadu Female Male Total Sex Ratio

Kalamaruthur188 186 373

1011

Kumaramangalam177 175 352

1014Illupur 180 186 365 968Keelaiyur 161 167 328 961 705 713 1417 989MaharashtraSayphal 178 185 363 966Hardap 162 164 325 988Chinchora (Dara) 150 149 298 1007Telkhedi 178 177 354 1006 667 673 1339 991OrissaKanthi 189 189 378 1002Bodhimoha 190 192 381 1009

Bahubandha167 164 331

986Jharbeda 193 194 386 1006Jagada 211 213 424 1009 948 951 1899 1003West BengalKarnagarh 136 135 271 1004Jaambani 135 134 268 1009Choukidghata 150 154 303 976Kankradara 152 161 312 943Tantkanali 140 148 287 946Jamda 135 143 278 943Salbani 846 873 1719 969

The other interesting finding is that the proportion of women in total labourforce is above half in

all age groups, but especially in the younger and the older age groups. This is particularly so for

Tamil Nadu, followed by Maharashtra. This must be distinguished from our earlier data on

32


workforce participation rates. While workforce is the economically active population involved in

different economic activities, the labour force includes the unemployed, who are not active

workers but seek work.

Women workers are largely concentrated in two activities: working on own or leased farms and

in casual wage labour in agriculture. The pattern in Tamil Nadu is different with a number of

women engaging in non-agricultural work such as in brick kilns, etc. Gathering minor forest

produce, etc. is clearly an important activity feasible in forest areas. The relatively more

equitable distribution of land in tribal areas of West Bengal and Orissa have resulted in a high

engagement in family farms.

Table 26: Percentage women workers in various activities

Tamil Nadu Orissa West Bengal MaharashtraSelf Employment in Agriculture 13 21 19 11

Self Employment in Non-Agriculture 4 39

2

Casual Labour in Agriculture 56 5144

65

Casual Labour in Non-Agriculture 23 10 8 Grazing and Gathering 2 15

1821

Salaried 0 2 1Others 2

Note: Most people are engaged in more than one activity, and the table allows for this

Literacy rates are significantly higher in West Bengal, as is the gender gap in attainment. Both

literacy and the gap is the lowest in Maharashtra.

Table 27: Literacy RateState Village Literacy Rate

33


Male Female Persons

Tamil Nadu Kalamaruthur 51 38 41

Kumaramangalam 52 35 40 Illupur 49 31 38 Keelaiyur 56 34 43

52 35 41Maharashtra Sayphal 38 21 28 Hardap 41 26 33 Chinchora (Dara) 33 19 25 Telkhedi 39 23 30 38 22 29Orissa Kanthi 42 33 39 Bodhimoha 39 28 34 Bahubandha 51 37 42 Jharbeda 37 24 30 Jagada 45 30 37 43 30 36West Bengal Karnagarh 63 40 54 Jaambani 59 32 48 Choukidghata 71 48 63 Kankradara 76 49 65 Tantkanali 69 43 59 Jamda 56 39 50 Salbani 53 38 48 64 41 55

One of biggest causes of distress and dispossession is the high-interest debt undertaken by

rural workers and farmers, which leads to forced migration. This results in a vicious cycle of

deprivation, debt and poverty, a cycle the NREGS is expected to break. In the table below, we

present the extent of indebtedness, esp. to traditional moneylenders. A large proportion of the

sample is indebted, and expectedly those without collateral incur more expensive but smaller

quantum of debt from the informal sector’s usurious moneylenders.

The main characteristics related to indebtedness are presented in Table 26. From here, it is

clear that by social category, SCs are the most indebted group in terms of incidence. In terms

of occupational categories, casual labourers in agriculture have a high incidence of

indebtedness. The quantum of debt per household is, not surprisingly, highest for the salaried

who spend on consumer durables and cultivators or self-employed in agriculture who borrow to

purchase inputs. Indebtedness is clearly a widespread phenomenon, cutting across social

category and occupations. However, despite the high incidence of debt across all types of

34


households, there is an inverse relationship between the average quantum of debt per

household and social status.

A very striking feature is the continuing grip of non-formal usurious credit, though there is

evidence of the emergence of ‘new moneylenders’ who operate along with traditional

moneylenders. The new entrants to non-formal credit include government functionaries.

Interestingly, West Bengal has a lower average size of household debt and comparatively lower

dependence on non-formal usurious debt. However, at 46 per cent, this continues to be high.

Table 28: Percentage households who are Indebted, Source and Average Debt Households in

DebtNon-formal Moneylender @

3 to 5 % per monthAverage Debt per HH in Rs

Tamil Nadu Villupuram 55 94 6100

Nagapattinam 67 89 5200Caste SC 69 93 5632 Others 59 92 5600Primary Occupation Self Employment in Agriculture 46 71 11000 Self Employment in Non-Agriculture 54 84 10981 Casual Labour in Agriculture 78 91 5700 Casual Labour in Non-agriculture 63 89 7500 Grazing and Gathering 74 83 5900Total 64 82 5800Orissa Mayurbhanj 74 82 8800 Sundergarh 51 64 10982 Caste SC 68 81 6163 ST 59 67 13097 Others 54 68 11802Primary Occupation Self Employment in Agriculture 65 49 17,000 Self Employment in Non-Agriculture 45 74 6,091 Casual Labour in Agriculture 63 79 7,040 Casual Labour in Non-agriculture 58 78 11,295 Grazing and Gathering 68 84 7,087Total 60 72 9156

35


Percentage households who are Indebted, Source and Average Debt (contd.) Households in

DebtNon-formal Moneylender

@ 3 to 5 % per monthAverage Debt per HH in Rs

West Bengal Bankura 59 44 6121 Midnapur 63 55 5336 Caste SC 68 59 3471 ST 58 44 4120 Others 60 35 9700Primary Occupation Self Employment in Agriculture 71 32 7,521 Self Employment in Non-Agriculture 64 41 5,209 Casual Labour in Agriculture 55 58 4,050 Casual Labour in Non-agriculture 51 52 3,051 Grazing and Gathering 62 51 3,121 Salaried 70 12000Total 62 46 5667Maharashtra

Nanded 71 73 5244 Nandurbar 79 93 4129 Caste SC 75 72 3988 ST 80 94 4537Primary Occupation Self Employment in Agriculture 79 75 5174 Casual Labour in Agriculture 80 98 5050 Grazing and Gathering 77 87 2254 Salaried 70 12000Total 69 89 4621

Forced/distress migration is another phenomenon that the NREGS is expected to mitigate. The

percentage of migrating households is high in our sample, especially in Maharashtra and

Orissa.

The extent of overall migration is high, with the notable exception of Tamil Nadu, where too

about 20 per cent of the sample migrates for work. Much of this is seasonal migration, and

usually in the lean agricultural season. Often, only men migrate, but not always. The usual

pattern is that in the case of the landless without any family foodstocks, entire families migrate.

Where there is livestock and double/multiple cropping, men alone migrate.

The highest extent of migration is from the more backward mono-cropped regions of

Maharashtra and Orissa. The underdeveloped regions have a higher incidence, duration and

distance of migration.

36


In terms of social category, most migrants belong to the SC and ST categories. Typically, while

the former are landless casual labour (in agriculture and non-agriculture), the latter combine

owner cultivation under rainfed conditions with casual labour. Not surprisingly, therefore, casual

labour in all sectors has the highest migration.

A majority of migrants go to destinations outside the district, with high out migration to other

states from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Again, the most backward districts reported higher

migration outside the state.

Most migrants worked in factories in road and building construction, and in agriculture, in that

order. The average wage rates of migrants varied across states and varied from between 50

per cent to 125 per cent of the minimum wage, with an average of 80 per cent.

Table 29: Migration Status in Maharashtra

District/ Village

% of Migrating

Households

Destination Duration in months

Outside Village

Outside Block/ Mandal

Outside District but within State

Outside State < = 2 3-5 6-9

NandedHardap 53 - 9 22 70 26 70 4Sayphal 3 - 100 - - - 100 -NandurbarChinchora 67 6 - - 94 6 17 78Dara 5 - - - 100 - - 100Telkhedi 88 - 76 - 24 11 53 36

Table 30: Migration Status in Orissa

District/ Village % of

Migrating Households

Destination Duration in month

Outside Village

Outside Block/ Mandal

Outside district but within State

Outside State Daily < 1 1 - 3 6 12

MayurbhanjKanthi 69 53 26 15 6 53 21 15 6 68Bodhimoha 81 67 5 2 26 67 2 31 - -

Table 31: Migration Status in Tamil Nadu

37


District/ Village

% of Migrating

Households

Destination Duration in months

outside district but within state

outside state 1 2 6 7 8 12

NagapattinamIluppur 8 75 25 50 25 25 - - -Keelaiyur 20 50 50 30 20 20 10 20Villuppuram

Kalamarudur 22 18 82 9 - 45 - - 45

Table 32: Migration Status in West Bengal

District

% of Migrating

Households

Duration in months

Daily < 1 1 2 4 Bankura 28.71 58.62 3.45 - 37.93 -Midnapur 66.34 7.46 8.96 56.72 25.37 1.49

38


V. IMPLEMENTATION OF NREGS

Some of the shortcomings in the programme include:

Low awareness regarding Scheme details on the part of potential beneficiaries,

panchayat members and officials;

Back log in registration and Job card distribution;

Non-issuance of individual cards;

Exclusion of separated/divorced women in natal home and female headed households;

Use of the Census definition of household as residents with common kitchen and

consequent reduction of per capita entitlements;

Arbitrary and unjustifiable criteria for eligibility like age, BPL card, income, or disability

etc. for eligibility not permitted by the Act;

Exclusion of migrants;

Lack of will to register women, the elderly and handicapped;

Unrealistically high productivity norms under piece rate and inadequate identification of

separate labour processes or the component tasks;

Despite the amendment in Parliament deleting the requirement of ‘diligence’, most states

have retained it to describe work;

No distinction between male and female outturn requirements, no reduction in norms for

women and the elderly;

Very low wages and non-payment of minimum wages;

Payment in cash only in most places is not in keeping with workers’ preferences;

Late wage payment;

Lack of official will to transform from a supply driven public works programme to a

demand driven employment guarantee;

No attempt to encourage applications for work;

No unemployment allowance or compensation paid to anyone;

‘Business as usual’ approach in the selection of works with over emphasis on roads and

ponds;

No creative thinking on works in the most food-deficit rainy months;

Delayed commencement of work due to non-issuance of work orders despite sanctions;

Inadequate worksite facilities, esp. childcare and drinking water;

Problem of funds to purchase implements for workers;

Absence of muster rolls at worksites;

39


Inadequate generation of employment;

Under utilization of EGS funds;

Shortage of Staff

Slow Progress and Underutilization of funds

Table 33:Financial Performance under NREGA, 2005-2006 (October)

S.No StateNo. of

Districts.Month Code

% Expenditure against total available funds (including

opening balance, last year's dues transferred in this

financial year centre's current year transfer and state's share

at 10 per cent)

% expenditure against

current year central funds and state's share at 10

per cent

Percentage distribution of expenditure

On unskilled wages

On semi-skilled and skilled wage

On material

On contingency

1 Arunachal Pradesh 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.002 Kerala 2 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.003 Maharashtra 12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.004 Meghalaya 2 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.005 Sikkim 1 4 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.006 Tamil Nadu 6 7 4.38 6.21 54.67 0.00 0.67 44.677 Mizoram 2 7 7.30 20.77 77.76 0.00 0.00 22.248 Bihar 23 7 12.79 24.16 62.15 4.02 32.79 1.039 Uttranchal 3 8 13.80 33.05 53.46 4.53 41.29 0.72

10 West Bengal 10 7 13.96 25.17 64.57 2.12 10.32 1.7311 Uttar Pradesh 22 8 18.39 36.02 68.10 3.66 26.11 2.1312 Assam 7 7 18.45 65.29 58.45 1.13 38.10 2.3113 Nagaland 1 7 21.80 67.74 60.00 0.00 40.00 0.0014 Jharkhand 20 7 22.47 33.88 62.56 7.65 28.78 1.0215 Jammu & Kashmir 3 8 24.52 45.16 63.96 21.11 14.07 0.8616 Harayana 2 7 25.98 55.74 70.40 0.75 15.19 13.6617 Himachal Pradesh 2 8 30.67 47.82 60.30 4.85 33.95 0.9018 Orissa 19 8 31.09 33.17 53.63 9.07 36.56 0.7319 Gujarat 6 8 31.14 59.15 62.90 1.02 9.71 26.3820 Tripura 1 8 32.99 87.27 NA NA NA NA21 Karanataka 5 8 36.52 66.06 60.45 2.90 33.84 2.8022 Madhya Pradesh 18 6 48.69 45.22 63.71 5.52 30.34 0.4323 Rajasthan 6 8 51.77 52.78 80.85 2.97 15.48 0.7024 Andhra Pradesh 13 8 51.95 70.54 80.64 0.20 0.61 18.5425 Chattisgarh 11 7 57.64 71.29 67.65 2.33 29.76 0.2626 Punjab 1 8 63.91 126.41 58.60 0.00 39.17 2.2227 Manipur 1 7 67.95 134.00 58.60 4.19 37.20 0.00

TOTAL 200 30.46 41.02 66.49 4.33 25.32 2.67Source: http://nrega.nic.in/

All the states told us that they would not be able to fully absorb first installment within the

prescribed time. The utilization levels varied between 6 per cent and 34 per cent in the selected

states. In the case of West Bengal and Tamil Nadu the Programme had really taken off very

40

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/mani_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/pb_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Chhattinregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/apnregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/rj_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/mp_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Karnatakanregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/tri_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Gujnregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/or_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Himapnregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Harynregafim.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/J&Knregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Jharnregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/naga_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/as_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/up_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/wt_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/ut_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Biharnregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/miz_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/tn_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/sik_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/megh_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/mh_nregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/Kernregafin.htm

http://nrega.nic.in/stateRep/web/ap1_nregafin.htm


well, but the Election Commission’s ill-advised decision to stop the NREGS before the elections

put a damper on the work. In both the states, the process of registration and issuing job cards

had taken off and worksites started until they were abruptly halted by the EC. In Orissa, works

for the lean season have not started till now. In Maharashtra the scheme is being implemented

on virtually the same lines as the former EGS.

The states have a low absorptive capacity at the moment due to a combination of factors, the

most important being lack of administrative staff and slow percolation of details to the lower

bureaucracy on the one hand and lack of awareness and pressure from potential beneficiaries

from below, on the other. There is no cause for alarm, since systems do not change overnight.

Both these constraints are likely to ease over time, but not by themselves. At the moment, a

perfectly good programme is being stymied by a nervous and insensitive administration, which

requires a strong political message and orientation of the bureaucracy. In addition,

administrative, technical and financial empowerment of Panchayats and a strong and organized

mobilization of the masses are both vital to strengthen grassroots institutions.

Mass organizations like women's organizations, agricultural workers and small peasant

organizations are ultimately most important, since as we have discussed elsewhere in the

Report, it is the extent of mass mobilization and bargaining power that has determined the

ability of workers to access their entitlements. There are also two institutions that are important

for the mobilization of workers and potential beneficiaries. The first are SHGs, especially for women, not only for micro-credit but also to organize women. The second is a formal assembly of registered workers, where a host of issues such as work selection, working conditions, wages and worksite facilities may be discussed.

It is also important to note that the pace of utilization has picked up after August in all the states.

Awareness

Awareness about the NREGS is very high in the sense that they know an Act has been passed

under which they will get 100 days of work in a year. Despite this, the knowledge about the

41


provisions is very sketchy resulting in poor quality of awareness. However, most people are

unaware about vital details such as application for work, eligibility, definition of household, etc.

The lack of information about details is partly due to the newness of the Scheme and the lack of

knowledge of the Panchayat and government officials themselves, and partly a deliberate

attempt by the administration to obfuscate issues or mislead people. This is esp. true about

applications and wage rate. The non-payment of minimum wages was justified by many states

by wrongly ascribing it to Centrally-determined productivity norms. Another related reason is

that most people learnt of the Scheme first from TV and each other, or “word of mouth”, either

because they did not attend the gram sabha or because the gram sabhas were not held.

In fact, the lack of awareness about the details was so appalling that it was mostly impossible

for us to remain mute or dispassionate spectators. In Orissa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, we

spent hours explaining the provisions to workers and government/PRI functionaries. At many

times, we had to intervene. The response of the Collectors was usually swift and effective when

it came to delays in job card distribution and wage payment. They were less responsive on

wage rates and pleaded helplessness in the face of the high productivity norms. Perhaps

because they are more deeply enmeshed in the local power matrix, the BDOs were less

responsive.

In Maharashtra, we were informed by officials at the Collectorate and the Mahur tehsil that the

state government conducted special gram sabhas on the 2nd of February in every village to

inform people about the NREGS and appeal to them to register as workers under the scheme.

The Mahur Tehsildar was emphatic that meetings were held in every one of the 63 GPs. Yet,

barring a handful of exceptions, virtually no one was aware of the full dimensions of the

Scheme. In Dahegaon, for example, workers on the site told us that there had not been a gram

sabha for 10 years in the village. In Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district, there was no notice given

to the cluster about the meeting, but one of the villagers present told us that he happened to sit

in the gram sabha held at Rajburdi during the month of February. According to him, there were

around 15-20 men present in the gram sabha, they included the Sarpanch, Deputy Sarpanch

and 3-4 members of the gram panchayat. Not a single woman was present, including the

women elected as members of the GP. He told us that in the meeting, he learnt of a Scheme

that would provide one person from each family with 100 days of employment. Villagers at the

Rampur worksite had heard about the NREGS on the radio. The women from Rampur told us

42


that women did not generally attend the gram sabha. They wanted to know if they could get a

wage of Rs 60 as advertised.

Table 34: Sources of Information about NREGA

Tamil Nadu Maharashtra Orissa West Bengal

Introduction Details Introduction Details Introduction Details Introduction Details Sarpanch/Gram Sabha

22 10 27 18 21 12 43 65Gram Sevak/Computer operator/Village Labour Leader, etc

17 18 14 46 Other government officials

6 45 14 23 12 14 Posters 4 6 2 3 5 8 4Television/Radio 21 3 4 4 7 8 41 29Word of mouth 47 19 53 37 43 15 8 2

Government officials claimed that they had done wide publicity and put up notices, used

loudspeakers and drum-beaters, etc., this appears to have only been done in the main village or

“oor” and left out the Dalit hamlets or “colony” in Tamil Nadu. In fact, a few officials too admitted

off the record that sometimes the meetings were never held and only quorum sheets signed.

The main issues on which confusion or ignorance persists are the following:

A. The majority were clueless of their entitlements, except that 100 days of work will be

provided. The general feeling amongst the workers was that the procedures of the

NFFWP and SGRY would continue, with the difference that now families would receive

100 days of work. Workers did not know that they could themselves define their

household as nuclear, minimum wages were mandatory, minimal worksite facilities (child

care, shade, drinking water and first aid) were to be provided, work was to be preferably

provided within 5 kilometers, unemployment allowance was to be paid, etc.

B. Payment of minimum wages: most state governments and officials at all levels seem to

feel that productivity norms dictate wages whereas the NREGA is quite clear that

productivity norms should be set to ensure minimum wage payment.

C. The process of registration and verification is very simple under the NOG and NREGA.

It only requires verification of local residence, attainment of adulthood and being a

nuclear household (including single member households). This is to be done by the

43


gram sabha and PRIs. However, in most places some documentary proof or the other

(Voter ID, Ration Card, Census List, etc.) was required.

D. The most baffling issue for workers, officials and panchayat functionaries alike was the

definition of household and the coverage of the elderly. While in many places the elderly

were deliberately not included in job cards, in other places entire joint families (on the

basis of common kitchen) were registered as a household unit.

E. Workers are unaware about the mechanics of the Scheme or that availing the guarantee

involves three steps after registration and receipt of job card:

i. Application for at least 15 days of continuous work on prescribed format;

ii. Obtaining a dated receipt for the same;

iii. Application for unemployment allowance if work is not provided within the

stipulated 15 days;

The popular perception is that receipt of the job card automatically guarantees

households 100 days of work, and the onus is on the state government. The fact is

entirely the opposite and the initiative rests with the workers.

F. Respondents sometimes did not know that works were to be selected and prioritised by

gram sabhas, and that contractors were banned and machines discouraged under the

Scheme.

Definition of Household

Most state governments were issuing job cards on the basis of a pre-existing household listing

done on the basis of common kitchen which was used for the Census and the ration cards.

Even though we were told that this was used as the building block for identifying new

households, most states stuck to common kitchen as the definitional unit for a household. The

NOG on the other hand has adopted the more inclusive definition of nuclear family, explicitly

recognizing single member households.

44


Table 35: Percentage of Joint and Nuclear Families

Tamil Nadu MaharashtraVillage Joint Nuclear Village Joint Nuclear

Kalamaruthur 56 44 Sayphal 54 46

Kumaramangalam 63 37 Hardap 51 49Illupur 41 60 Chinchora (Dara) 29 71Keelaiyur 61 40 Telkhedi 44 56 West Bengal Orissa

Village Joint Nuclear Village Joint NuclearKarnagarh 33 67 Kanthi 49 51

Jaambani 41 59 Bodhimoha 61 39Choukidghata 29 71 Bahubandha 53 47Tasar Ara(N) 36 64 Jharbeda 46 54Benia Baid 24 76 Jagada 39 61Kankradara 27 73Tantkanali 44 56Jamda 31 69Salbani 36 64

This is essentially a case of oversight or administrative laziness – most officials were either

unaware of the provision in the Guidelines or simply continued with the existing lists due to the

force of habit. Contradictions within state Schemes also have a role to play. Both Orissa and

Tamil Nadu have defined households as nuclear in accordance with the NOG, but have

undermined this by instructing PRIs and POs to use pre existing lists drawn-up on the basis of

common kitchen for verification. This has rather serious implications in terms of entitlements.

For example, in the case of a joint family with 4 adults, the common kitchen definition reduces

entitlements by one-half, to 25 days per person instead of 50 days per person. This makes a

dramatic difference to the livelihood security of these households. Several respondents lived as

joint families and have 6-10 members registered in the same job card. This effectively reduces

their entitlement since smaller households will get more wore work per capita. This is patently

unfair and heavily pitted against joint families. It is also not in accordance with the NOG as well

as several state schemes, which provides that “1.3. ‘Household’ will mean a nuclear family

comprising mother, father, and their children, and may include any person wholly or

substantially dependent on the head of the family. Household will also mean a single-member

family.”

45


Table 36: Missing Nuclear/Single Member Households

Tamil Nadu Orissa Maharashtra West Bengal

Widowed/Separated daughter in natal home 15 5 13 13Widowed daughter-in-law /Second wife of polygamous son 11 4 7 5Female-headed households 9 7 15 7Adult unmarried children 94 102 85 71

Adult married children 82 92 73 53

Total (including adult unmarried children) 211 210 193 149

Total (excluding adult unmarried children) 117 108 108 78

The other major problem that follows from this is the exclusion of married daughters who are

either widowed or separated/estranged from their husbands and have returned to live with their

parents. The practice of men having more than one wife either adds to the number of members

in the household or disenfranchises one of the two wives. An ambiguity arises in the case of

adult unmarried children and whether they should be considered separate households.

Table 37: Size Wise Percentage Distribution of Census Households and Average Household Size

Maharashtra OrissaNanded Nandurbar Mayurbhanj Sundergarh

Sayphal HardapChinchora (Dara) Telkhedi Kanthi Bodhimoha Bahubandha Jharbeda Jagada

Up to 5 16 33 51 21 23 21 29 25 196 to 10 70 61 45 66 68 72 67 66 71Above 10 14 6 4 13 9 7 4 9 10Average size of household 7.25 6.50 5.96 7.08 7.55 7.62 6.61 7.72 8.48

West Bengal Tamil NaduMidnapur Bankura Villipuram Nagapattinam

Karnagarh JaambaniChoukid-ghata Kankradara Tantkanali Jamda Kalamaruthur

Kumara-mangalam Illupur Keelaiyur

Up to 5 55 53 49 54 59 62 35 45 42 586 to 10 43 44 48 41 39 35 61 52 45 33Above 10 2 3 3 5 2 3 4 3 13 9Average size of household 5.41 5.36 6.06 6.24 5.74 5.56 7.46 7.03 7.3 6.55

The dependency ratio (dependents per worker) is very high. The number of eligible workers per

household (who may or may not be registered) under the Census definition of a household on

the basis of common kitchen is an average of 3.2. The 100 days of work per rural household

may not be adequate to address poverty and migration nor reverse the rural crisis. Hence, a more

inclusive definition of household must be used.

46


Table 38: Percentage distribution of households by number of eligible members per household for employment under NREGS Number of Eligible Members → 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Tamil Nadu Kalamaruthur 4 14 27 34 16 2 3 Kumaramangalam 3 31 17 37 5 5 2 Illupur 3 23 42 18 8 4 2 Keelaiyur 2 27 32 21 12 3 3Maharashtra Sayphal 4 21 25 35 12 3 Hardap 3 35 38 17 6 1 Chinchora (Dara) 3 36 44 9 8 Telkhedi 2 31 37 19 9 2 Orissa Kanthi 2 35 37 22 2 2 Bodhimoha 4 35 36 23 2 Bahubandha 1 49 38 11 1 Jharbeda 3 36 42 17 2 Jagada 3 37 27 31 2 1 West Bengal Karnagarh 6 54 33 7 Jaambani 4 59 30 7 Choukidghata 3 45 41 10 1 Benia Baid 5 53 39 3 Kankradara 2 53 41 4

Registration

Registration is not seen as a continuous process, as provided in the Act. Somehow, there is a

notion of a ‘last date’ which was even announced formally in TN. For this reason, despite

provisions to the contrary, in TN and Orissa, migrants were more often than not excluded. This

is because registration was “open” and photographs were taken before the sowing season, a

time of year when labour migrates out in search of jobs. Often, only the men go. Several

women were turned back because they were not the “heads of the household”, which is itself a

violation of the law. If entire families had migrated, they were told on their return that they have

to now wait till the registration “opens” again.

In Orissa, money was charged for forms, and job card application forms were sold to the

villagers for Rs 2 to10 each. In Tamil Nadu and Orissa, in some villages a payment had to be

made for photographs @ Rs 20 – Rs 30. This was either a bribe to the computer operator in one

TN village or a charge to a private photographer since the Panchayat had no money for

photographs in another. The P.O. needs to provide money to Panchayats for this purpose. In

West Bengal, village camps were held for registration in the two districts we visited.

Photographs were not insisted upon (the voter ID or ration card numbers were used instead).

47


Eligibility and Verification

The household and its eligible adult members are usually verified on the basis of Voter ID, ration

card. This is despite the fact that according to the Act and NOG, no documentary proofs ration

card, etc the only requirement is verification by the particular gram panchayat and gram sabha

that the applicants are local residents, together form a household and are adults (See NOG, p.

14-15).

In Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, local officials have evolved all kinds of completely

illegal and unsound eligibility conditions imposed by the bureaucracy, some examples of which

are given below:

1) An age of 18 yrs to 60 yrs (older persons excluded)

2) Insistence on presence of head of household or male member of household3) Payment of annual house tax of Rs 50 in Chichora (Nandurbar),

4) Payment of Rs 20 for photographs

5) Landless or farmers with less than 2 acres in Nanded

6) Private homestead land or house and therefore exclusion of destitutes and abandoned

women in natal homes

7) BPL card, Voter ID, ration card

8) Only 2 persons per household

Often, the local administration imposes a completely unwarranted limit on the number of eligible

workers registered from each household – somewhere one, somewhere two. This is especially

the case in the caste-ridden TN villages.

There is a great deal of pressure to exclude older persons. This is for two reasons, both easy to

tackle. The first is the prevalence of piece rate work and absence of a different productivity norm

for the older persons, which results in workers themselves raising this demand. The second is

the restriction on number of eligible workers per household to an arbitrary one or two and to

exclude the sixty plus. In any case, the National Old Age Pension Scheme must be universalized, the amount of pension must be raised to Rs 500 per month and the eligibility simply be the attainment of 60 years of age.

48


In none of the fours states were there any special instructions or government orders to

recognize female-headed households as independent units irrespective of joint residence or

kitchen. Though this is not of great importance in Maharashtra which has unlimited and

individual entitlements, everywhere else it is of immense significance.

We had expected that the implementation of the NREGS in Maharashtra will be somewhat

better than in states where it is being tried out for the first time. But the experience in two

districts in the state, viz. Nanded and Nandurbar pointed to the contrary. Some people told us

that they had been told that the Scheme was not for those with more than 2 acres of land, but

they had nevertheless filled the forms. We also met a woman who said that she had returned to

her natal home after her marriage broke down, but was told that she was not eligible because

she no longer belonged to the village. Some said that they had been asked to get their

photographs, but were not aware that the government is to bear the cost of the photos.

However, while identity cards had been issued in Hardap to some extent, none were given in

Gokul. From data supplied by the Collector’s office, it appears that hardly 18% of the applicants

in Nanded have been issued identity cards; the proportion is 23.4% in Kinwat, 12.1% in Mahur

and 15.5% in Bhokar tehsils. When we asked the SDO in charge of Kinwat the reason for the

delay, we were informed that it was because the records were being computerized. In fact the

Tehsildar of Mahur and his colleagues had not seen a job card yet, and our team had the

privilege of handing over a photocopy of the one we had obtained from the Nanded Collectorate

to him!

There are therefore two groups of people who are disproportionately excluded, the elderly since

they are not considered capable of manual labour and female-headed households who ought to

be recognized as independent households but are subsumed in the cards of their natal families

or excluded altogether. We came across several women who had lived in the village for

generations and the entire village was willing to corroborate this. Some had no ration cards,

some had been born in the village, left after marriage and have now returned as

separated/divorced women to their natal homes.

49


Table 39: Eligible households/members of household not registered and reasons thereof

Tamil Nadu Reason

Restrictions on Eligibility Proof of local residence Migration

Discontinuous Registration: Did not know about the Scheme and registration is 'closed' now

Inability to 'pay' for photograph, etc.

Non-recognition as household due to defintion of household on the basis of 'common kitchen' Age

Number of Registered Workers per Household

Lack of documentary proofs like ration card, BPL card, voter ID card, inclusion in census list, etc.

Refusal to recognize women who are divorced/widowed/separated and have returned to natal homes as local residents

Absence of male 'head of household' at time of registration due to migration

Entire family had migrated at time of registration but have now returned

Mother-in-law 56 68 Father-in-law 67 66 Self (Wife) 21 All family members 13 15 19 17 Widowed/Separated daughter in natal home

3 7 9 15

Widowed daughter-in-law /Second wife of son

3 6 11

Female-headed households 4 2 5 8 9Adult unmarried children 108 94Adult married children 220 82OrissaMother-in-law 52 Father-in-law 74 Self (Wife) 9 All family members 13 19 15 Widowed/Separated daughter in natal home

5 5 5

Widowed daughter-in-law 4Female-headed households 2 3 6 7Adult unmarried children 102Adult married children 44 92Note: The question had multiple answers

51


Eligible households/members of household not registered and reasons thereof (contd.)Maharashtra Reason

Restrictions on Eligibility Proof of local residence Migration

Discontinuous Registration: Did not know about the Scheme and

registration is 'closed' now

Inability to 'pay' for

photograph, etc.

Non-recognition as household due to defintion of household on the basis of 'common kitchen' Age

Number of Registered Workers per Household

Lack of documentary proofs like ration card, BPL card, voter ID card, inclusion in census list, etc.

Refusal to recognize women who are divorced/widowed/separated and have returned to natal homes as local residents

Absence of male 'head of household' at time of registration due to migration

Entire family had migrated at time of registration but have now returned

Mother-in-law 75 Father-in-law 69 Husband Self (Wife) 28 All family members 32 27 Widowed/Separated daughter in natal home

10 13 13

Widowed daughter-in-law /Second wife of son

7

Female-headed households 10 10 15Adult unmarried children 98 85Adult married children 73West BengalAll family members 4 Widowed/Separated daughter in natal home

13

Widowed daughter-in-law 5Female-headed households 7Adult unmarried children 71Adult married children 53Note: The question had multiple answers

52


Atharipada is one of the 12 tribal clusters of Telkhedi in Nandurbar, which is itself one of the three

villages that form part of Rajbardi GP. Two young men had done a house to house survey to register

the households for the NREGS. They were trained by the Extension Officer of the Panchayat Samiti

for the purpose, and promised a wage of Rs 60 per day for a total of 18 days, but were yet to receive

the payment. They informed us that they were told not to register those workers who are above the

age of 60. This was confirmed when we met some elderly men who said they had not received an

identity card, but wished to have one. At the worksite at Rampur-Virpur, a similar demand was raised

by elderly workers. No special instructions had been given regarding physically challenged persons.

At Athharipada, single widowed women were included in the family of other married males (sons,

father-in-law or husband’s brother, etc). Only in the absence of such males was the card issued in

the name of the woman. In Rampur, forms of individual women had been accepted, but not in

Chichora where they insisted that “bring along a male member of the family for registration.” Due to

lack of clarity about the concept of nuclear family, a few cards that we saw had included all members

of the joint family (eg. father and married son with their respective families) instead of issuing them

with separate cards. The BDO at Shahada told us that separate cards were issued only if they were

insisted upon. He was unable to answer our question on whether special instructions were issued

about registering female headed households. At Chichora, workers who had migrated during the

period when the registration was done had not been included in the list of registered workers.

At Atharipada, every one was asked to gather at the local school to have their group photo taken.

Since they were not informed otherwise, all of them paid Rs 20 per photo to the photographer from

Raj Photo Studio, Dhadgaon. Villagers told us that they were categorically told that if they had no

money, they would not be photographed. As one person told us, “People sold grain to pay the

photographer”. Villagers told us that initially the Gram Sevak told them that unless they paid their

annual house taxes, they would not be issued their identity and job cards. However a visit by the

Collector to the neighbouring village of Jugni prompted a swift distribution of the cards in a single day

to all whose names had been registered. Incidentally this was the first Collector to visit the area after

Independence! But the Gram Sevak had not yet made it! But in Rampur and Chichora, no photos had

been taken. In Chichora, however, families paid Rs 50 towards house tax before getting the identity

card.

As per the records obtained from the Collectorate, of the total of 53679 households in Shahada,

35333 households have registered for work with the Gram panchayats, but only 8500 (24%) identity

and job cards have been issued. For Nandurbar district, the number of identity cards issued is 51000

against a total household strength of 2,09, 682 (24%). No separate data is available for Dhadgaon.

53


In the verification process, the only aspects that have to be ascertained are family, local residence

and age. Neither the Act nor the Guidelines call for any documentary proof. However, the

administration has often introduced all kinds of arbitrary requirement – ration cards, voter IDs,

Census lists, etc. In fact, the ID number system used in the 2002 BPLsurvey, which has been

adopted for the NREGS by Orissa leaves even the BDOs utterly confused. The result is that they are

incapable of and therefore unwilling to add any new names to the 2002 household listing. This has

meant that those households who do not have ration cards (APL or BPL) and a unique ID number

have not got registered, which is leading to huge delays. This also implies clinging on to the definition

of household according to common kitchen.

Job cards There is a long waiting period between registration and the receipt of job cards (2 months) in Tamil

Nadu’s Villipuram district and Maharashtra. Female-headed households are denied job cards in

many places. Job card distribution is slow, and Sarpanches do not feel bound to distribute cards. In

Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district, we visited the Sarpanch of GP Kalamarudur against whom the

villagers had complained, saying that he has not signed the job cards for a very long time. He

incidentally had the biggest house on the main street in the Block headquarter. We met him as he

played carrom in the Panchayat office, where he very coolly informed us that he was not in any way

bound to distribute the cards since no instructions to do so have been issued. On the contrary, he

claimed that the BDO had asked him not to distribute the cards. When we brought this to the notice

of the DM, he agreed that the administration was waiting for the notification of the revised Schedule

of Rates. After our intervention and the DM’s instructions the cards were distributed. The

performance of Villupuram continuous to be sluggish compared to Nagapattinam, and the slack can

be gauged from the high gap between registration and job card distribution.

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Table 40: Percentage Households who have received job cards and applied for work

District Village

Received Job Card Applied for Work

Yes No Yes No

Orissa

Mayurbhanj

Kanthi 59 41 0 100Bodhimoha 54 46 0 100Bahubandha 51 49 0 100

SundergarhJharbeda 61 39 0 100Jagada 55 45 0 100

West Bengal

Midnapur

Karnagarh 89 11 16 84Jaambani 95 5 12 88Choukidghata 91 9 14 86Tasar Ara(N) 87 13 13 87

Bankura

Benia Baid 85 15 10 90Kankradara 79 21 17 83Tantkanali 92 8 10 90Jamda 85 15 21 79Salbani 94 6 22 78

Maharashtra

NandedSayphal 19 81 15 85Hardap 57 43 21 79

NandurbarChinchora (Dara) 27 73 8 92Telkhedi 23 77 7 93

Tamil Nadu

VillupuramKalamaruthur 19 81 0 100Kumaramangalam 21 64 0 100

NagapattinamIllupur 69 19 10 90Keelaiyur 63 21 6 94

Note: Here, we have adopted the official common kitchen definition. The Maharashtra Data is for Identity Cards.

In Orissa and Maharashtra too there were several complaints of delays, and often workers reported

that they were photographed, but have not receive cards. In Maharashtra, there is a dual process

underway: one, to issue identity cards, and the second to issue job cards. This is also laid down in

the MREGS. While the issuing of individual cards is a vital step in a Scheme that provides universal

open-ended individual entitlements, it is not at all clear why this is becoming an impediment to the

issuing of job cards which are required under the NREGS. Till the time of our survey, nobody had

received job cards, only identity cards had been issued.

In West Bengal, distribution of job cards was a relatively smooth process, though there were some

complaints that the Panchayat Presidents were sometimes partisan and did not give job cards to

households affiliated to rival parties. However, these problems were solved through the intervention

of BDOs and DPCs.

55


Apart from the receipt of job cards, another major issue is possession of the job cards. We found

that these were often not with the registered workers, and were taken away on one pretext or the

other. In Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district, for instance, the Presidents told the workers that they might

‘misplace’ the cards so he would safeguard them. The women we spoke to were extremely scornful

of this, and said that if they can keep their ration cards safely, why not the job cards? But the most

extreme and disturbing example of this that we encountered was in Rasagobindapur block, in villages

Angargadia, Pattagardia, Katuni, Takirdahi of GP Rasagobindapura and in Udala block’s

Bahubandha village, all in Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. The Village Labour Leader (a misnomer for

what is essentially a contractor, and is referred to as such by the village people) had taken away

everybody’s job cards. This shocking fact was revealed in the presence of the Gram Sevak, and we

immediately called up the DM. The DM responded swiftly and effectively: FIRs were lodged against

the VLL and job cards returned. However, at the Seminar held at the state capital, people from

different parts of the state reported the same phenomenon of VLLs taking forcible possession of the

cards. Participants in the Orissa state Seminar from Malkaigiri, Korapat, Gajapati and Ganjam

reported that no job cards were distributed, nor was any work started under the programme.

An analysis of available official data in the relevant period tells a similar story. The data for

Maharashtra is very confusing: in several districts, there are more households who have received job

cards than have applied for registration! The job card distribution is extremely slow and only 30 per

cent of the rural households had received job cards by July.

Table 41: Status of implementation of NREGA during June 2006-07 in Maharashtra

S.No District

% of rural households with job

cards

% of rural households who have applied for

registration

% of households who have applied for work and hold

Job cards 1 Ahmednagar 58.93 70.04 1.942 Aurangabad 62.28 100.00 3.133 Bhandara 33.28 36.62 10.524 Chandrapur 4.35 6.40 100.005 Dhule 12.45 19.97 2.836 Gadchiroli 36.28 46.08 42.797 Gondya 52.73 23.48 182.718 Hingoli 2.09 1.24 31.609 Nanded 3.03 4.27 0.00

10 Nandurbar 53.67 30.23 7.2211 Yawatmal 7.59 4.35 43.6812 Amravati 14.58 9.98 18.65

Total 29.48 26.44 28.60

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The data for Orissa shows higher distribution by August, and in some districts at least the definition of

household has moved beyond the Census notion of a common kitchen, reflected in the figures

exceeding 100 per cent.

Table 42: Status of implementation of NREGA during August 2006-07 in Orissa

S.No District

% of rural households with job

cards


registration1 Bolangir 47.44 86.402 Boudh 57.25 82.703 Deogarh 71.04 94.904 Dhenikanal 51.63 84.635 Gajapati 85.46 89.716 Ganjam 45.15 77.037 Jharsuguda 49.93 70.238 Kalahandi 54.26 77.299 Keonjhar 35.38 93.44

10 Koraput 54.77 69.4911 Malkangiri 160.86 81.2712 Mayurbhanj 17.67 80.9613 Nabarangpur 112.98 71.2014 Nuapada 115.59 89.2915 Phulbani/ Kandhamal 51.93 76.0016 Rayagada 68.75 85.8417 Sambalpur 72.37 86.8218 Sonepur/ Subarnpur 48.23 84.3519 Sundergarh 58.16 68.19

Total 57.16 79.38

Despite the late start, Tamil Nadu is catching up. The discrepancy between registration and job card

distribution is high, and the performance across districts is highly uneven.

Table 43: Status of implementation of NREGA during July 2006-07 in Tamil Nadu

S. No. District

% of rural households

with job cards


registration


Job cards 1 Tiruvannamalai 54.51 97.47 4.232 South Arcot/Cuddalore 70.00 100.00 7.973 Villupuram 36.59 100.00 8.154 Nagapattinam 79.59 97.75 4.085 Dindigul 28.24 100.00 25.596 Sivagangai 30.41 100.00 7.98 Total 49.55 98.97 7.86

In West Bengal too job card distribution has not kept pace with registration, and the more backward

southern districts are lagging far behind.

Table 44: Status of implementation of NREGA during August 2006-07 in West Bengal

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S. No. District

% of rural households with

job cards


registration


Job cards 1 Purulia 43.25 51.87 33.642 Malda 41.44 57.02 61.453 West Midnapur 28.85 79.39 13.114 Bankura 58.92 86.87 22.445 West/ North Dinajpur 100.00 98.93 79.626 Murshidabad 53.55 66.35 14.857 Birhbhum 86.56 95.11 52.918 Jalpaiguri 59.55 67.21 7.459 South Dinajpur 59.94 79.23 22.64

10 24 South Parganas 25.50 81.73 11.21 Total 48.34 75.88 32.02

Individual cardsThe focus on household cards and the non-issuance of individual cards has led to the exclusion of

female-headed and nuclear households that remain invisible in common kitchens and natal homes.

In this context, the decision of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu to issue individual cards is a welcome

step, which must be emulated. By far the more successful, Tamil Nadu’s Nagapattinam district’s

practice of issuing individual cards to each eligible household member is a pioneering step. This is

truly empowering for the workers, giving them a sense of citizenship, of rights. It gives women

independence and strengthens their status, adding to their self-confidence in accessing work and

livelihood as well as their intra-household position.

Already, we encountered two examples in relation to the issue of household cards. Mostly women go

to work in Tamil Nadu as the men are unwilling to work on the low wages, and have migrated or

taken up farm labour or are simply unemployed. The second problem faced Two women told us that

their husbands have taken to a very unfortunate practice of using the job card as blackmail to

resolves discords with wives over alcohol, etc.by another woman was that her husband uses it to

force her to part with her wages, such as they are. In fact, a woman in Orissa told us that things are

quiet now because the wages are low, but if they increase to the minimum wage, the men won’t even

let the women go for the NREGS work since they would want to avail of it themselves.

Application for WorkDiscussions with villagers everywhere, except a few pockets, revealed that none of them had applied

for work despite possessing job cards. The entire approach is extremely complicated and

bureaucratic. People have no idea that they had to apply for work, leave alone how to do so. This is

despite the fact that all the states have printed prescribed forms for this. The printed forms seem

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more for the benefit of Monitors than the people! Workers are under the impression that after

registration the onus is on the Panchayat and local administration to provide them 100 days of work

and that the possession of the job card would automatically ensure this. In fact, most registered

workers are complacent in the belief that the administration will soon ‘open’ worksites and call them.

They have no idea that the process of accessing employment in public works has been put on its

head (or the right way up!) and now the onus is on the workers to apply for work. They are innocent

of this transition from a supply-driven FFWP to a demand-driven NREGS. They are a bit perplexed

though that they have not yet received the unemployment allowance in the absence of work, but

have assumed that they will get it later. Thus, this cornerstone of the guarantee, its greatest strength,

can ironically render the entire Scheme infructuous. “Nobody applied” could become the excuse to

scuttle the Scheme.

The major highlight of the NREGA is its demand driven approach. Although the earlier Maharashtra

EGS did incorporate a system whereby a demand for work had to be raised, there were inordinate

delays in providing the work due to a longwinded bureaucratic process of sanction. As a result, the

Scheme deteriorated into a top-down approach where various line departments undertake certain

works, and workers are called to the worksites. The same approach prevailed in the later National

Food for Work Programme and the Sampoorna Gramin Rozgar Yojana. As a result, only those who

are present in the village, have not migrated elsewhere and come to know about the work are able to

access it. Moreover, if the availability of work is less than the demand, many workers have to return

empty-handed. Our search for a site located at Mahadapur village in Mahur tehsil (which incidentally

was closed when we reached there) resulted in an unscheduled meeting with at least 50 villagers at

another village Ivleshwar, all of whom complained bitterly that there had not been a single

government worksite in their vicinity for the last 4 years, despite the fact that there was a dire need

for work in the village. On other sites such as Rui, many said that they had not got any work on

government sites last year. The same situation prevailed at Gokul Gondegaon and Hardap. It is clear

that the Maharashtra EGS did not meet this demand for work in the previous years.

At the Dahegaon site, it was the Forest Guard who had informed workers that work was to begin near

their village; at Lanji, it was the Agricultural Assistant, in Shekapur and Rui, it was certain

‘middlemen’ who informed the villagers that labour was needed. It was the same at Loni in Kinwat

taluka.

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The All India Agricultural Workers Union has submitted applications for work in March (1330

applicants), in April (1267 applicants) and May (655 applicants) from several villages in the tehsil,

and even received an acknowledgment in Nanded. Yet all those who had applied for work remain

unemployed to date. We also had a meeting with the Tehsildar, Bhokar and the SDO in charge of

the tehsil on our way to Nanded. When we pointed this out to the SDO, and informed him that these

workers would now be applying for unemployment benefit, he took recourse to the fact that the

applications had been submitted to the Tehsildar and not the GP. We pointed out that the option to

submit applications to the Tehsildar has been clearly mentioned in the NOG of the NREGA. But there

was no satisfactory explanation as to why work had not been awarded.

The crucial aspect of the NREGA is the provision for workers to demand work as per their

requirement, and the mandate to the government to make it available within the prescribed limit of 15

days. However, in our survey, we did not find a single site where the demand driven aspect of the Act

was put into practice. The official explanation for this is that the workers are illiterate and cannot

apply on their own, but we found that workers had no idea that they were required to apply.

An important suggestion made by an activist in Tamil Nadu was that the GP should launch a campaign for spreading information about applications, and for the first two years at least, there should be a door-to-door survey every trimester to inform people about this crucial aspect of the Programme and also generate applications. Officials must also have to explain why they were unable to provide the 100 days of work, especially in the most sluggish blocks and districts.

WagesLike any other public employment or food distribution programme, the NREGA also provides

entitlements in terms of income or grain (or both) with the important feature of the legal enforceability

of the guarantee. The wage rate is one such entitlement. However, workers are earning no more

than 50 to 60 per cent of the minimum wage, sometimes even a mere one fourth. The most shameful

aspect of this programme is that we as a nation are willing to accept and even justify poor women

earning amounts ranging from Rs 16 to Rs 40 per day of back breaking digging, lifting and throwing

soil in the heat. This is justified on grounds of low outturn by the workers and failure to produce the

norm, as if the norm was immutable. The good news is that Tamil Nadu followed the example set by

Andhra Pradesh and has revised its norms downwards. The second worksite survey done by us in

early October 2006 shows that this exercise has borne fruit, and now workers are by and large being

paid minimum wages, sometimes after a strike of work and negotiated settlements.

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Table 45: Work and Wage in NREGS

District Village

Statutory Minimum

Wage

Average days of

employment per

household

Average Daily Wage

Wage earned as % of Statutory minimum

wage

Average Daily Wage

Wage earned as % of

Statutory minimum

wagePost norm revision

Orissa Mayurbhanj

Kanthi 55.00 4 21 38Bodhimoha 6 24 44Bahubandha 5 23 42

SundergarhJharbeda 4 55 100Jagada 3 31 56

West BengalMidnapur

Karnagarh 67.42 6 35 52 45 67Jaambani 6 37 55 51 76Choukidghata 12 41 61 49 73Tasar Ara(N) 12 32 48 43 64

Bankura

Benia Baid 6 44 66 50 74Kankradara 4 42 63 47 70Tantkanali 6 35 52 39 58Jamda 8 39 58 44 65Salbani 12 43 64 49 73

Maharashtra (recall of FFWP sites

which use same norms as NREGS)

NandedSayphal 47.00 2 27 57Hardap 4 24 51

NandurbarChinchora (Dara) 2 25 53Telkhedi 2 23 49

Tamil Nadu Villupuram

Kalamaruthur 80.00 6 55 69 70 88

Kumaramangalam 12 31 39 6581

NagapattinamIllupur 8 33 41 59 74

Keelaiyur 6 29 36 80 100

Note: this is an average for workers at worksites

This is the single most important problem in the Scheme. Moreover, it is a problem that no one

denies. This problem has nothing to do with corruption, an issue raised repeatedly. It is in fact the

opposite of what was argued would happen if the Centre pays the wages set by the States:

competitive wage increases by the States. There has been little increase in wages in major States

except for Tamil Nadu where the wage rate has been revised from Rs.54 to Rs.80 and Uttaranchal

where it was raised from Rs.58 to Rs.73. Maharashtra proposes to raise wages now, after a gap of 5

years. . In the course of our State level consultation in Mumbai, the Hon’ble Minister Shri Patil

announced that the Government of Maharashtra had decided to raise the minimum wage for

unskilled rural workers to Rs 66, which will come in force from the 30 th of October 2006 this was last

revised in 2001. They also said they would examine the Schedule of rates soon.

Governments of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh have revised the schedule

of rates in accordance with NREGA but kept the wages at the same level. Rajasthan Government

had reduced output norms by 10% for 2 months – May and June because of the intense heat The

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government of Orissa has already begun scientific time and motion studies in order to revise the

Schedule of Rates. They feel that an average 33 per cent reduction will be required in the norms.

West Bengal did reduce the outturn requirements marginally in two districts, but this has not been

enough to bridge the gap. The Secretary assured us that this state government was monitoring

wages, and will reexamine the Schedule of Rates.

The practice in all the four states is to set daily tasks and rates for them, and calculate wages on the

basis of the outturn. However, the productivity norms are very high with the exception of Tamil Nadu,

which results in the phenomenon of “less work, less pay”, and not “more work, more pay”. Wages

are less than statutory minimum wages for a very simple reason: the amount of production/outturn

expected from the workers is humanly impossible in the prescribed time. This leads to payment of

very low wages in most parts of the country. The Centre and States are responsible for such

payments. The Courts may start intervening in such cases very soon since some aggrieved worker

or organization is bound to appeal against the non-payment of minimum wages.

Even though the Act permits productivitylinked wages under piece rate, it adds two very important

riders: that workers shall not receive less than the minimum wage; and that the state government

shall set productivity norms and rates in such a way that 7 hours manual labour earns the minimum

wage. The relevant sections in the Act read as follows:

6. “Under no circumstances shall the labourers be paid less than the wage rate.7. When wages are directly linked with the quantity of work, the wages shall be paid

according to the schedule of rates fixed by the State Government for different types of work every year, in consultation with the State Council.

8. The schedule of rates of wages for unskilled labourers shall be so fixed that a person working for seven hours would normally earn a wage equal to the wage rate.” Sch I

This is also backed up by very detailed instructions in the NOG in Sec. 3.

“3.1. Norms for measurement of work have to be evolved by the States...for all the tasks listed under piece-rate works for the different local conditions of soil, slope and geology types in such a way that normal work for seven hours results in earnings at least equal to the minimum wage...3.2. The productivity norms for the District Schedule of Rates (DSR) should be worked out for each locale in such a way that seven hours of normal work earns minimum wages. 3.3. The State Governments should undertake comprehensive work, time and motion studies. These studies will observe outturn and fix rates after detailed location-specific observations. This implies that productivity norms must follow possible outturn under different geo-morphological and climatic conditions, across and within Districts. This is of particular significance in areas with a high degree of location specificity and variability in the soil, slope and geological conditions and seasonal variation. Therefore, a matrix of rates for the same task needs to be drawn up that follows ecological rather than administrative boundaries.”

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There are two ways of addressing this problem, and we suggest a combination of the two. The first is

that Sch I (6), (7) and (8) should not be violated and minimum wages should be paid in the manner

prescribed in the NOG. Non-revision of Schedules and non-payment of minimum wages should be

treated as a serious violation of the Act with suitable action against the DPC.

However, the burden of a high productivity norm is not the only cause of under payment under piece

rated work. There are four distinct components for wage estimation under earth works:

a. task specification

b. soil identification

c. lift and lead provision

d. measurement

There are problems in each one of them. In earth works, typically men do the loosening and digging,

while women lift the earth on their heads, carry it to some distance (10 meters, 20 meters, even

more), lift it to some height (4 feet, 6 feet, even more) and throw it, to return and repeat the process.

When work is specified, the labour process is not broken up into the distinct tasks, with earth

loosening, digging, carrying, lifting and throwing clubbed as one activity. Similarly, rarely are correct

‘lift and lead’ allowances made, even though the existing Schedule of Rates allows it. Usually, a

standard rate is specified, irrespective, even though weather, age and gender play as important a

role in ability as soil. Clearly, lifting and throwing should be treated as separate tasks from digging.

There are systemic forces at work which result in invisibilising women's work through a focus on

productivity-linked earth works and high productivity requirements. The urge to save costs and make

additional assets by exploiting existing gender biases that already invisibilise women's work and pay

her less/nothing for her labour is the most important underlying factor behind the continued clubbing

together of easily divisible tasks and low payment. In a sense, women’s labour at public worksites

gets treated almost in the same way as women’s work in the household. Unfortunately, administrative

laziness has exacerbated this situation further whereby difficulty in computing women’s work has

resulted in it not being recognized as independent work.

There is also some amount of confusion regarding the productivity norms. Though the maximum

outturn under the old rates in Tamil Nadu was 3 cu.m, workers in Kumaramangalam were emphatic

that they had to produce 3 cu.m in the morning and 1.3 cu.m in the afternoon. For their labours, they

recieved a daily wage of Rs 25. In Maharashtra, too, workers have no idea about the rates of

payment and their wage entitlements. There was also discrepancy in the piece rates told to us by

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different people. For example, at Dahegaon, some workers told us that they were to be paid at the

rate of Rs 4 per pit measuring 2 metres x 2ft x 1 ft. At Loni in Kinwat, we were told that the rate for a

pit 1 metre x 2 ft x 1 ft was Rs 2.40, whereas the Range Forest Officer at Kinwat told us that the

official rate for a pit measuring 1 metre x 2 ft x 1 ft was Rs 4.80 per metre.

At Dahegaon, we asked some workers to recollect the wages paid to them in the previous year; they

told us that the rate for digging was Rs 22 per cubic metre for A-1 soil (soft), Rs 27 for A-2 type (hard

soil) and Rs 29 for A-3 type soil. The lead and lift rate varied between Rs 5 and 7 per 10 metres. At

Lanji, they said the rate was Rs 14.70 for the first cubic metre, and Rs 4 as lead and lift for every

stage of 10 metres. At Shekapur, the rates told to us for A-1, A-2 and A-3 were Rs 19, 23 and 27 per

cubic metre with a lead and lift rate of Rs 4 per stage of 10 metres. At Rui, the largest site we visited,

workers had absolutely no idea what the going rates were. None of these rates matched with the

wage rates prescribed in the DSR. There were no boards describing the nature of the work

undertaken, the number of workers present, and the prescribed wage rates. It should be noted that

many workers were literate and would have benefited had the transparency provided for in the Act

been actualized.

Measurement is delayed by days, and this leads to inaccuracies. There are two methods that are

followed: either the earth that has been dug up is measured or the pit from which it is removed is

measured. While the loose dug soil can get washed away in the rain, pit measurement works

reasonably well on clayey soil. Work is rarely measured on a weekly basis, which not only causes

delays in the disbursement of wages but also leads to inaccuracies in measurement since rain and

wind can very easily distort the quantum.

Much to our chagrin, we discovered that in Orissa often the JE (Junior Engineer) is too busy to visit

all the sites for detailed measurement and this has led to uncertainty about the allocation of tasks,

suitability of productivity norms in the soil/slope regime and the final measurements taken. All these

functions are informally delegated to the panchayat members, the VLL and the mate. In Tamil Nadu,

too, in Kumaramangal village we were told that the Vice President and President measured the out

turn with the help of a few upper caste people. One day, “a man came in a car and looked at the piles

of earth, never measuring”, and later the workers learnt that he was the JE.

Even though work is measured on a jodi or pair basis in most places, it is averaged for the entire

worksite and everybody earns equal wages. The muster rolls too reflect this. For this reason, there

is a lot of resistance to the elderly working on these sites since their productivity is likely to be less,

64


which will pull down the average. There are at least two solutions to this under piece rate. (1) The

wages are paid on the basis of individual/jodi measurement; (2) There are separate norms for women

and the elderly. Of these, the latter is better because it is fair and more capable of ensuring that all

workers earn the minimum wage.

Some State Governments have taken important steps to ensure minimum wage payment, and, in conformity with the Act, West Bengal has made marginal revisions in two districts. While Tamil Nadu has undertaken substantive steps, Orissa is on the way to revising its Schedule of Rates.

Table 46: Comparative Picture of Schedule of Rates Across States for NREGAState Soft soil Hard Soil Hard Rocky Soil Cubic meters Cubic feet Cubic meters Cubic feet Cubic meters Cubic feetAndhra Pradesh Old 2.5 - 3 88.34-106 2.2-2.5 77.73-88.34 1.5 53.00 Revised 1 - 1.86 35.33-65.71 1-1.45 35.33-51.23

Gujarat*Old 2.03 71.72 1.54 54.41 0.57 20.14Revised 1.11 39.22 1 35.33 0.49 17.31

Madhya Pradesh 2.91 102.81 2.25 79.49 NA NARajasthan* 1.92 67.83 1.67 59.00 1.19 42.04

Tamil NaduOld 3 105.99 2.25 79.49 1.5 53.00Revised 1.2 42.40 0.9 31.80 0.6 21.20

West Bengal

Old* 2.42 85.50 2.18 77.02 1.89 66.77New (Bankura & Birbhum) ** 2.26 79.85 2.09 73.84 1.61 56.88

Jharkhand* 3.11 109.88 2.83 99.98 2.54 89.74*Includes lead upto 50 meters and lift upto 1.5 meters** Includes lead upto 25 meters and lift upto 1.5 meters

Out-turn requirements vary substantially across states. Of the states for which we have data,

Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh have the highest norms for a day’s work while Tamil Nadu and

Andhra Pradesh have the lowest. For soft soil, the norm varies between 110 cft in Jharkand and 36

cft in Andhra Pradesh.

In village after village the foremost concern of workers is that wages paid are far below the minimum

wage rate. What is more disturbing, however, is that the wage deductions on account of inability to

achieve the unrealistically high productivity norms under piece rate has become an excuse for

panchayat and government functionaries to negotiate for low wages in order to get works done.

Disappointed with the wage at the end of the fortnightly measurement cycle, workers have

sometimes revolted (esp. male and upper caste) and not come the next week. In states like Tamil

Nadu, in the districts we visited, low wages have meant that male and non-Dalit workers are not

interested in the Scheme. Several works had to be stopped in Tamil Nadu due to the refusal of

65


workers to work for the low wages being given. The bargaining then began between the Executive

Officer and workers. Workers were persuaded to settle for a wage higher than their productivity

linked wage but below the minimum wage, which is typically a little higher than the prevalent market

wage. The paper work then ensures that this wage is earned and involves fudged measurement and

even muster rolls.

In fact, in Orissa a village level worker told us that he did something completely illegal to get workers

to a worksite. In the first week, on the basis of measurement, workers barely earned Rs 30 each and

therefore refused to come again the second week. The Executing Officer who was responsible for

completing the Project then initiated a process of wage bargained with the dissatisfied workers, and

finally they settled at Rs. 50 per day. This is clearly not linked either to the productivity norm or the

minimum wages, but reflects the bargaining power of the workers. Not surprisingly, this is only a little

higher than the prevailing market wages. In order to justify this wage payment, the EO then worked

backwards and fudged his records. For this, he told us, lift and lead provisions were given at twice

the actual amount. Only then did the quantum of work justify Rs 50. He was very worried after we

literally forced this confession out of him, but our curiosity was aroused by the workers’ statement

that they only came after an a priori promise of Rs 50 as wage.

There is a social dimension to the amount of wages that workers earn. We found that there is a

strong positive correlation between the bargaining power and asset ownership of workers and the

extent of minimum wages earned. Where poor people own some agricultural land, labourer get a

higher wage, but where landless labourers dominate the poor, wages are low. Upper caste male

workers tend to have a higher bargaining power, while Dalits, tribals and women don’t. Where there

are strong movements and mass organizations, the balance tips in favour of the workers. This is

certainly not the way the Act should be implemented, and indicates the influence of labour market

conditions on the Scheme. Where workers have alternatives or market wages are relatively higher,

they earn a higher percentage of the minimum wage.

While welcoming the Scheme, and seeing it as a way out of distress migration, 93 % respondents are

opposed to the payment of wages in accordance with a task based system and prefer a time based

system. Respondents said that even if piece rate is mandated by the Central Government (which is

what the local officials have told them), an immediate revision of the schedule of rates is required.

Upon further probing, they argue for different rates for men, women and older persons. When we

mentioned that the government wants to keep the elderly out of the Scheme, two older men retorted;

who would feed them? They then demanded that if they are to be excluded from the NREGS, their

pension be raised to Rs 500 per month.

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Delayed Payment of Wages

As far as timely payment of wages is concerned, in Maharashtra, we found that barring Dahegaon,

where the workers had received a total amount of Rs 2500 as advance, (which amounted to anything

between Rs 50 and Rs 100 per worker, that too without any proper record of payments made to each

worker) there was not a single site at which payment was being made as per the prescribed practice

of the NREGA, i.e. once a week. The earlier practice of payments after the entire quantum of work is

completed continues, so there are sites where work had been going on for more than 2 weeks, but

payments had not been made. When we asked the workers when they were expecting the money,

the standard reply was to shrug their shoulders and say “after the work measurements have been

taken”. When asked when the measurements are taken, the reply was at least 2-3 weeks after the

work is completed. At none of the sites had the measurements been taken on a weekly basis as per

the provisions in the Act.

When we asked workers at Atharipada in Maharashtra about work done by them on other sites, they

informed us that around 100 of them, mainly pairs of men and women had worked on the Shikalti-

Shelbara road, for around 4 weeks in the month of February 2006. They had not received any

payment for the work done till the day we visited them (21st June). They were not aware of the wage

rates; measurements had been taken suddenly in their absence so they were not sure how much

they would receive as payment.

In Orissa, we found several instances of delayed wage payment. In Jagda GP of Bisra Block in

Sundergarh district, the VLL ‘contractor’ of the FFWP and the present OREGS worksite did not pay

two weeks wages to over 25 workers for over a month. This, despite repeated reminders by the

workers. Our team went to his house, where we discovered that he was pretty well off and had

worked as a contractor earlier too. There were several bags of foodgrain lying around. After a lot of

argument, we complained to the DM, who was extremely proactive. She ensured that the workers

received the payment from the JE the very next day.

Wages in Orissa are paid almost entirely by the VLL, sometimes also the Panchayat Secretary.

Usually, no government servant is involved in the payment. On most sites in Orissa, workers said

that the wages were either paid in their houses or to the group leader, without public payment to the

actual worker.

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In Tamil Nadu, there was a stark contrast between Villupuram and Nagapattinam. In Villupuram

there were several complaints of delayed payment, by as much as 7 to 10 days after the 15 day

period.

Muster Rolls

Proper Muster Rolls are not available at the worksite. Only in West Bengal and Nagapattinam district

of Tamil Nadu were the muster rolls available with the Panchayats and entries are made on the job

card and muster rolls signed at the time of payment of wages. Workers said that attendance is

marked on a rough sheet on a daily basis at the work site but not on the muster roll. The official

explanation for this was that the daily record is entered every week in the muster roll in order to avoid

mistakes and damage to the final document.

Even though workers had received wages and when we inspected the muster rolls they had thumb

impressions purportedly of those who had received the wages, none of the workers Maharashtra,

Orissa and Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu recalled ever having signed/put their thumb impressions

on the document. It is customary to maintain a rough Muster Roll which is later used to prepare the

final Muster Roll, typically while sitting in the Block office. Therefore, the signatures and thumb impressions are entirely forged. It was very tough to get photocopies of the Muster Roll.

Furthermore, entries are usually not made on the job card at the time of wage payment, esp. in

Orissa. The workers are mostly unaware of the requirement that entries be made on the job cards,

muster rolls be maintained for daily attendance, etc. Muster rolls are neither available at worksites

nor at the Programme office.

At every site in Maharashtra, there was a huge difference between the number of workers shown in

the records obtained from the Collectorate and the actual number of workers on site. For example, at

Dahegaon the number of workers we counted was 32, including two women employed to fetch

drinking water, while on record the number is 120. At Lanji, it was 17 against an official figure of 143,

at Shekapur 37 against 145, and 135 against 165 at Rui. The total number of workers shown to be

working on all EGS sites in Mahur as per the record on 3rd June was shown as 5085, a figure that

surprised the local people because they had not seen so many worksites in existence. When we

confronted the officials with this fact at the Tehsildar’s office on the 8th of June, they were completely

unfazed by our queries, and simply told us that many works had been completed in the previous two

or three days; consequently the number of workers had declined!

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Monitoring and Vigilance Committees

Except in West Bengal, where the Beneficiary Committees are designated as Monitoring and

Vigilance Committees, these have not been formed anywhere.

Cash or grain?

Everywhere, women complained of the poor quality of grain and voiced suspicion about the quantity.

This is how a Tamil woman Janaki amma put it: “Every night, the rice stares at me like a monster,

resisting the boiling water as it takes twice the time to cook”. However, this notwithstanding

everywhere women wanted at least part payment in kind when they worked. Interestingly, they

wanted the men of their household to receive wages only in kind since, whatever the quality,

whatever the quantity, it would at least reach home and fill the empty stomachs of the children.

Over 4/5th of the sample preferred payment to be partly in grain and partly in cash. Almost all female

respondents and 50 % male respondents wanted the wage partly as grain. However, they are very

clear that this must be calculated at BPL prices. This view is held all over the country, which

demonstrates the primary importance of food security. It also reflects the inability of the PDS to

successfully address this vital concern. Female respondents preferred payment in kind since it saves

a trip to the local market to buy grain, besides of course the tendency to simply spend the money so

that it vanishes (“flies”) quickly.

Table 47: Mode of Wage Payment Only in cash Only in kind Part in cash and part in kind

Maharashtra Male 12 2 86

Female 2 59 39West Bengal Male 23 3 74

Female 4 2571

Tamil Nadu Male 29 5 66

Female 1 2475

Orissa Male 14 3 83Female 2 63 35

Post Office Payment of Wages

Nagapattinam is an example of the positive impact of SHGs on women. When we enquired about

the mode of wage payment we discovered it was through Post Office accounts in the name of

individual workers. This caught our attention immediately, because some of us were skeptical about

this for several reasons. We thought it might offer a greater scope for corruption since people may

not know if only the genuine workers are receiving payments or some false entries are created in the

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muster rolls to siphon off money. The lack of literacy may not allow workers to verify timely and

correct payment. Operating the account may prove to be very difficult for the workers, especially

women. Distance may be another factor, since coverage may not be adequate.

All these are of course valid concerns. But the only place where we encountered Postal Office

transfers was Nagapattinam, and here it worked very well. We examined each aspect and randomly

collated entries in muster rolls, pass books and job cards. We did not come across any discrepancy.

Moreover, despite repeated and varied prodding, women workers were very happy with this

arrangement. They said that cash was too liquid and and spent very quickly, whereas just the act of

having to withdraw cash enabled them to save some money.

There was some discomfort in areas where accounts were being opened for the first time, and many

workers were suspicious about the Rs 50 they paid as bank opening balance. One good suggestion

to address this problem is to permit zero balance accounts for this Scheme.

One important explanation for the high comfort levels with Postal dealings was their experience with

Co-operative banks and Post Offices through membership of SHGs. The other is that these are

amongst the worst affected Tsunami areas, and compensation, etc. was paid in the same way. The

third of course is a more effective bureaucracy. But despite the high comfort levels with Postal

payment, women still prefer grain payment! The State Government has recently issued instructions

asking district programme coordinators not to insist on bank payment and be guided by the workers

preference.

Exclusion/exploitation of Women

Close to 70 per cent of the workers at NREGS worksites were women in the age group of 30-50

years, largely from landless, small and marginal farmer households, belonging to Dalit and Adivasi

communities. The high percentage of poor Dalit and Adivasi women at EGS worksites is reportedly

because men are unwilling to work at such low wages. At these abysmal wage, men would prefer to

migrate or find alternative employment to increase family income while women would tend to stay

back to look after the home and the family’s basic needs.

In fact, the low wages have meant that even though persons from all sections registered for the

programme, mostly women from low/no asset households availed of the work under the Scheme.

Thus, the lower-than minimum wages have become a mechanism for targeting the Scheme at the

poorest and most vulnerable. Ironically, this has made it a self-defeating exercise, as far as poverty

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alleviation is concerned since wage rates are more important than employment alone for reducing

poverty.

Another exclusion brought about by this method of work organization is of single women due to their

inability to find a partner. In fact, single women have been turned back from the sites. If two women

team up (sometimes, a mother and daughter) others at the worksite resist this since this tends to

bring down averages. It is sometimes suggested that each pair be measured and paid separately so

that the able bodied do not directly “subsidize” (sic) the elderly and women. These demands have

found support at the conceptual level from the lower bureaucracy, but the task is administratively

daunting and unfair to women and older people.

Implements and Tools for Work

Not all households own the implements required for loosening, digging and carrying the soil. These

implements are expensive and not all households can afford to buy them. In Tamil Nadu, several

Dalit landless and marginal farmer households told us that this was a big problem for them. The soil

was clayey and had caked and hardened considerably. The Panchayat had 7-8 sets of implements

for each of the three tasks of breaking, digging and carrying the soil. Workers who did not have the

implements found, to their dismay, that prices had increased by 50 to 75 per cent in the local market

since the launch of the Programme. At least 4 workers on the site reported that they became

indebted in the process. Workers also reported high wear and tear of the implements and thus an

impending replacement cost.

There was a good suggestion by a Panchayat member that the implements be bought by the PO

from the Programme funds and included under the material component. These could be kept with the

GPs. We brought this up during our discussions with the State Government, who, however, rejected

it out of hand. This notwithstanding, we must not loose sight of this issue.

Child labour

In several worksites in Maharashtra, in gross violation of the law, young children (7-13 years of age)

worked with their parents on the worksite. They were typically involved in carrying and throwing the

dug soil in order to increase the family’s meager earnings. Apart from its sheer illegality, it also

meant that this work was unpaid and invisible. Some were school going, and we asked them their

class in school. Most were in the 5th to 7th Standards. We found one young girl (between 13 - 14

years of age) working in her ill mother’s place in Orissa. The entire workforce at the worksite was

very protective about her and admonished us for our disapproval of child labour. “Who will feed

them? The mother is a widow with no land and very ill. Don’t make an issue of this”, they said.

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Selection of Works

The NREGS is also meant to create durable assets through labour-intensive works and to stop

distress migration in the lean seasons. There are four concerns with regard to the works under the

NREGS. The first is the vital issue of the permissible list of works under the Scheme, which have

been prioritized and listed in Schedule I of the Act.

“1. The focus of the Scheme shall be on the following works in their order of priority:--(i). water conservation and water harvesting;(ii). drought proofing (including afforestation and tree plantation);(iii). irrigation canals including micro and minor irrigation works;(iv).provision of irrigation facility to land owned by households belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes or to land of beneficiaries of land reforms or that of the beneficiaries under the Indira Awas Yojana of the Government of India;(v). renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of tanks;(vi).land development;

(vii).flood control and protection works including drainage in water logged areas; (viii).rural connectivity to provide all-weather access; and

(ix).any other work which may be notified by the Central Government in consultation with the State Government..”

(Schedule I)

The second is the identification and prioritization of specific works by the gram sabha. The third is to

devise mechanisms that ensure that women, Dalits and other non-dominant sections find voice in the

gram sabha and through assemblies of registered workers and women workers so that their needs

are reflected in the works selected. The fourth is whether the NREGS can respond to the demand for

individual beneficiary works and income generation activities under the NREGS like horticulture,

sericulture, stitching, etc.

With this in mind, we investigated both the types of works selected and the method followed. Both

male and female workers under the NREGS reported that in many places the gram sabha was held

for the selection of works, but very few women attended it and none participated in the discussion.

Despite their numerical predominance as workers under the Scheme, women have had very little

voice in the selection of works on which they labour.

The workforce participation rate and illiteracy amongst women are high. We found that where

women were organized into collectives, be it as part of a mass organization or SHG, it added to their

self confidence in articulating their priorities. They identified the severe scarcity of water storage in

the area as the most important issue. Where they exist, hand pumps suffer from poor maintenance

and falling water tables. Wells are in plenty, but most dry up in the summer and the water level is

falling. This burdens women who have to spend more time under worse conditions to undertake

household responsibilities.

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Women told us that their main concerns are food security, health, sanitation and water. The severe

water crisis prompted them to prioritise water harvesting structures. Also, since most of them owned

some livestock, they wanted to know if pastures for grazing could be developed under this Scheme

since lack of fodder and water poses a huge challenge to rearing animals like cows, goat, hen and

cock. Women demanded the inclusion of infrastructure for social and human development like an

anganwadi, a ration shop and a primary healthcare center in the list of selected works, and accorded

these a very high priority. However, they were told that it would be difficult to obtain sanction for

health centres, anganwadis, ration shops or such other works. The two other activities that women

are keen to undertake in NREGS are home based and small scale industries like sericulture, food

processing, pisciculture, and rearing livestock. However, they remained silent or absent in gram

sabha meetings, which is one reason why road construction came second after water conservation

projects. The second reason is that such suggestions are dismissed out of hand since they are not

permissible under the NREGS.

Table 48: Type of Work Selected in Gram Sabha under NREGS (%) Orissa West Bengal Maharashtra6 Tamil NaduRoads 28 5 33Culvert construction/repair 3 Rapta construction/repair 2 Tank Deepening 28 22 21Tank Construction 24 33 29Dug wells construction / Repair 15 Irrigation including canals 8 12 17Repair of irrigation gates and waste weir 2 3 Nurseries and afforestation 5 5 Permitted works on Pvt. land 5 Type of Work Desired under NREGS Grazing land/ Pastures 8 5 7Fish Culture 15 24 Health centres/ health care 19 12 24Primary School and Anganwadis 17 9 27Ration shops 22 11 15Training Centres + Small scale industry 10 30 9Houses 5 6 12Livestock rearing 4 3 6

This focus on durable physical asset creation not only denied women full wages but also made it

difficult for women to suggest works for health, education, etc. This also rules out key development

activities like the construction of social infrastructure, maintenance of assets and services like

sanitation, etc. This restrictive specification leaves little room to address local requirements and robs

6 The selection of works in Maharashtra was not done by the gram sabha essentially because there was a continuation of the old EGS and works were therefore selected on the basis of an earlier shelf of projects available under FFW, and the officials did not see any reason to change this system.

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the gram sabhas and panchayats of the initiative to plan works. Thus, the concern of minimising

waste and leakage through ‘unproductive’ works ends up undermining decentralized local planning

and gender concerns. It also makes it very difficult to generate work quickly.

We found that gram sabhas were clearly told by panchayat officials, who in turn were told by the

bureaucracy, to restrict their selection to durable assets through earth works. When we enquired

why, we were told by officials that they were not aware of mechanisms that allow for location-specific

flexibility in the types of works that may be taken up. Nobody wanted to take the risk of stepping out

of line.

The table below clearly brings out the domination by ponds and roads in the works selected.

Table 49: Physical Performance under NREGSS.No

StateMonth Code

Types of Works (including both completed and ongoing) % water conservation+

drought proofing + plantation in Total

Works

% Rural Connectivity in

Total Works Water Conservation

Drought Proofing and Plantation

Flood control

Rural Connectivity

Other works

Total No. of works

1 Andhra Pradesh 8 37104 227 0 2 9823 47156 79.16 0.002 Arunachal Pradesh 6 0 0 0 0 57 57 0.00 0.003 Assam 7 684 176 400 1513 1361 4134 20.80 36.604 Bihar 7 2802 179 269 10119 5646 19015 15.68 53.225 Chattisgarh 7 2403 2005 58 3716 2995 11177 39.44 33.256 Gujarat 8 2085 83 9 620 173 2970 73.00 20.887 Harayana 7 192 2 10 93 95 392 49.49 23.728 Himachal Pradesh 8 465 159 333 1239 1548 3744 16.67 33.099 Jammu & Kashmir 8 22 2 241 353 484 1102 2.18 32.03

10 Jharkhand 7 15636 196 8 4841 2580 23261 68.06 20.8111 Karanataka 8 3042 553 441 1023 2262 7321 49.11 13.9712 Kerala 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0013 Madhya Pradesh 6 63920 11790 918 19387 6052 102067 74.18 18.9914 Maharashtra 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0015 Manipur 7 9 42 0 151 32 234 21.79 64.5316 Meghalaya 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0017 Mizoram 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 0.0018 Nagaland 7 18 12 1 10 12 53 56.60 18.8719 Orissa 8 7911 1815 345 12714 5041 27826 34.95 45.6920 Punjab 8 260 10 30 734 119 1153 23.42 63.6621 Rajasthan 8 9493 508 124 3524 818 14467 69.13 24.3622 Sikkim 4 0 0 0 0 217 217 0.00 0.0023 Tamil Nadu 7 873 0 34 218 398 1523 57.32 14.3124 Tripura 8 0 0 0 0 1399 1399 0.00 0.0025 Uttranchal 8 1460 270 625 90 240 2685 64.43 3.3526 Uttar Pradesh 8 6536 4169 715 16096 4281 31797 33.67 50.6227 West Bengal 7 3214 1255 366 1987 852 7674 58.24 25.89

TOTAL 158129 23453 4927 78430 46485 311424 58.31 25.18

The translation of the list of works to a shelf of projects needs the vital steps of obtaining technical

sanction and estimation after a survey. This is where the government machinery faces its biggest

crisis: inadequate technical staff. It is essentially for this reason that there is a tendency to stick to the

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list of works included in the District Perspective Plan prepared under the National Food for Work

Programme. Converting needs to works and finally an implement-able shelf of projects requires

technical support and extensive capacity building at the village and Panchayat level. The state

governments must ensure that there is an efficient and responsive organization of sufficient

personnel for speedy design, estimation and sanction of works selected by the villagers. Water

harvesting and conservation works received high priority everywhere, and therefore a team of

agricultural engineers and watershed planners are a must for designing earthen structures through

earth and soil engineering. However, the lack of political commitment to decentralized local area

development is often a far greater impediment than skills and engineering support.

There is at the moment a tendency to stick to the projects already sanctioned by the administration,

which is all right as a transitional strategy till a system of more participatory and creative local area

development is engendered. There is therefore a predominance of works like tank deepening and

repairs, and road construction. With village planning as the norm, the projects suggested in the gram

sabha were mostly for new or deepening of water conservation structures, link roads, schools, health

centers and other buildings, ponds, stop-dams, hand pumps and taps. Upper caste land-owning men

often mentioned construction of lengthy pucca roads between villages or to Block headquarters and

minor/medium irrigation structures that benefit three-four villages. The village people usually

welcomed these, but there were disputes over prioritisation. While the better off sections were keener

on activities with a high potential for profit like rabi irrigation, fish tanks, etc., the poor were more

focused on biomass optimization for fuel and fodder, basic drinking water needs, water for daily

chores and livestock closer to their padas/hamlets, soil moisture conservation, etc.

Village Bodhimoha in Orissa has an interesting example of conflicts over selection of works. The SC

and ST poor in the village were keen to get the tank near their hamlet repaired first as it served their

daily water needs. The upper caste members were more interested in constructing a tank at some

distance from residences, which they wanted to use for commercial fish rearing. Despite the Palli

Sabha listing the tank in the SC hamlet as number one in priority, the BDO issued a work order for the distant tank. This led to fisticuffs, and the BDO took the technical position that both works were listed in the FFWP Perspective Plan, but could not show it to us. Ultimately, the tank was constructed, and taken by the upper caste President for fish rearing while the poor are not allowed to take fish.

In Orissa and West Bengal, the village communities as well as the workers are interested broadly in

five types of works: water storage and harvesting; roads and connectivity; buildings for social

infrastructure; nurseries for plantation and fruit trees; and leveling and bunding of farms. In the hilly

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terrain, which is the catchments of large rivers, the concentration of rainfall in high intensity results in

rapid run off of rainwater. Uplands and midlands remain largely fallow. This has meant low

productivity and inadequate food security. For this reason, farm bunds are essential to conserve

water. In the drought prone areas, workers and villagers want measures that mitigate the adverse

impact of drought like malnutrition, death of livestock, crop failure and distress out-migration for work,

reduce soil erosion and help overcome the degeneration of forests in the area. Forest and land

dependence is very high in the tribal areas in our selected districts, which was reflected in a demand

for afforestation and nursery raising activities. The lack of irrigation facilities has resulted in high

seasonal out-migration from the villages of Orissa each year.

At the moment, the list of works focuses too much on roads and big ponds. In Orissa and Tamil

Nadu, we were told that the more powerful people in the village were trying to usurp the powers of

the gram sabha and deciding the list of works through fake gram sabha meetings. We also came

across one instance of a fake worksite, where workers were asked to construct an existing road!

However, the NREGS has already stimulated the local community to think of works that contribute to

local area development and respond to their real felt needs.

The Collector of Bankura, for example, pointed out that till now, the focus has been on ponds, tanks,

check dams and dugwells. Since the district has 21 per cent forest area, regeneration of sal forest is

an important activity. However, sal nurseries are relatively more expensive. DFO north has set up a

sal nursery. The DM is keen to promote horticulture in the uplands and midlands and there is a

demand for activities like fish culture. Even though the States are given at least a consultative role in

adding works, this has not yet been operationalized under the Scheme in any of the 4 states.

In order to ensure dovetailing and convergence of the various programmes and schemes, the Guidelines should allow all such works as have been approved/accepted by the Planning Commission under any of the planned Schemes of the Centre or states. If the states wish to include any additional works, they may consult the Central Government. This will be simple and speedy. The Guidelines already permit dovetailing the EGA with other government programme where the labour component is provided by the EGA. In West Bengal, this is being done.

It is also important to follow the selection and prioritization in the Gram Sabhas convened for the NREGS rather than sticking to the FFWP Perspective Plan alone. There will be a gestation period, but this must not become an excuse for complacency or neglect of the current listing.

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It is also very important to publicize the land improvement provisions for SCs, STs, etc. and to include Female Headed farms in this list.

Role of Panchayats

The political equations are already beginning to change at the Block and local level because the

NREGS is disturbing the local power equations. The resentment because of the non-payment of

minimum wages has led to a great deal of acrimony between the project implementation authorities

(the government and panchayat functionaries) on the one hand and the workers on the other. The

local bureaucracy has told the workers that the norms and work-wage process are determined by the

Central Government, which of course is not correct.

In both Tamil Nadu and Orissa Sarphanches told us (in private) that there were three main reasons

why the GPs were not really interested in this Programme. The first is the absence of staff at the

Panchayat level, which makes design and technical estimation very difficult. The second and related

point is that the banning of contractors in this Scheme means that nobody has the incentive to

organize the works and inform workers, arrange for the material component, get the technical survey

done, pursue the PO to issue work orders, etc. “Even getting the work order and advance from the

Block Office involves several trips, not to mention chasing the JE”. Finally, we were told, very

pragmatically, “There is no scope for any extra earning (sic) in this Scheme. Too many rules and too

much publicity on TV.” The message has gone down not to mess around with this Scheme. In other

words, they argued that the banning of contractors and avenues for leakages has resulted in a

lukewarm response from the gram panchayat Presidents.

In Orissa, the FFWP contractors continue to work in the NREGS, as a ‘village labour leader’ (sic), a

highly coveted post and candidates are reported to spend up to Rs 20,000 on elections to this post.

The institution was introduced in 1995 to address a problem common to all rural development

programmes. An amount of Rs 200 crores was found outstanding as advances against work orders

issued in the name of JEs and AEs. It was decided that the work order be issued in the name of one

of the villagers selected by the Palli Sabha as Village Labour Leader. Sometimes, the contractors put

up candidates from the village as their proxies, who fulfill the eligibility of local residence. The VLL

receives wages for skilled labour at the rate of Rs 75 per day from the Project for its duration.

However, we were shocked to find that in at least two worksites, the wage of the VLL was coming out

of the common pool based on measurement of work, thereby implying that this masked contractor

was paid out of the wages of the manual workers. From what we saw, the institution of VLLs is a guise for contractors. Most of them did not even live in the villages, but in the Block headquarters. They were usually contractors under the FFWP and SGRY. The State

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Government officials told us at the Seminar that an order has been issued to prevent the VLLs from handling any cash and wage transaction. The Gram Panchayats will now implement the works directly, but may take the VLLs assistance in supervision. It is not very clear if this will reduce the difficulties posed by the present arrangement. A far better solution is to hire village level workers or Gram Sevaks for each village.

In Tamil Nadu, all the Presidents we met were big landlords from the upper caste and the eligible

workers of the NREGS were their farm labour. This meant that the GP would try to only deliver

“largesse” not rights. In fact, in Keezhakuppam Velur GP of Villupuram, the President had made

workers perform farm labour on his private field under the NREGS! For this, he paid them for some

token road work. After a futile 2 hour village meeting during which he tried to locate ‘muster rolls’ and

kept trying to unsuccessfully break a lock of the Panchayat office to access them, we gave up. The

workers were scared to say anything in front of him. But those at a slight distance from the inner

circle told our survey team that they received Rs. 50 to Rs. 60 under NREGS to work on the

President’s private land. One young class VIII student, too scared to speak in the village, followed us

on his cycle and gave a letter, which also confirmed this.

However, a few Sarpanches at the Seminars we held in Nagapattinam who appeared very

enthusiastic had a different complaint: the government had apparently set an initial limit of Rs 1 lakh

per GP, which was a problem because it meant that some other works that the GP was interested in

could not be taken up.

In West Bengal, the situation was very different. The Panchayats already had a ready shelf of works

with technical sanction. There are functional beneficiary committees for each of the works. There,

the problem was different: the Collector and GPs seemed very proactive and enthusiastic: the Block

officials were not. In fact, in both the villages, the GP Presidents told us that the BDOs had stopped

the works because they had no money, something the DPC denied. The President also reported that

despite technical approval and repeated requests, he was yet to receive work orders for two works.

In some places, the Panchayats were very enthusiastic. There is an interesting example of how

Panchayats beat the heat in West Bengal. When the works re-started after the elections it was

extremely hot during May. In Junebedia Panchayat, workers and the beneficiary committee jointly

decided to split the work day into two parts from 5 to 9 in the morning and from 5 to 9 or 6 to 10 at

night. At night, halogen bulbs were used to light up the worksite, giving it a festive air.

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The high degree of experience and powers with PRIs and success in de-centralization in West

Bengal should facilitate the success of the NREGS. The gram sabhas too are far more active and

democratized, which is another positive factor.

It would be a fair assessment to say that almost everywhere; the response of the Block officials was

not in tune with the enthusiasm of the workers. Apart from West Bengal, panchayats too lacked

enthusiasm. This in fact sums up by and large the condition in most parts we visited: the people

were full of expectations and energy; the administration was apprehensive and wary; the politicians

recognized its enormous potential for mobilization as well as disenchantment and were selectively

vigilant.

The causes for the inadequacies on part of the GPs can be analytically divided into the following

categories:

a) inability due to lack of administrative, financial and technical resources and experience

b) confusion due to complicated and baffling procedures

c) disinterest due to stringent procedures and greater transparency

d) hesitation due to the novelty of the programme

Therefore, there is a need to mobilize the Gram Sabha through the assembly of registered workers

and SHGs, and devolve powers to Panchayats. Capacity building too is very important. Monitoring

and vigilance committees must be formed everywhere.

Use of Machinery and Relative labour and material costs

In Bisra block of Sundergarh, there is very high usage of machinery, and some workers told us that

the labour:machine ratio is 20:80. In Orissa, there was one site were there was a genuine need to

use machines to cut and lift stones. This became the excuse to use machines elsewhere. In

Mayurbhanj too, in some places machines are also in use. Apart from this, we did not find the use of

machines. At the Seminar, we were told that in Kukudakhandi Block, Ganjam district, Orissa, the

work was done by machines at night under the cover of darkness by contractors or VLLs, and

records were fudged to show 60:40 labour:material ratio. The use of machinery by VLL-Contractors

is widely reported in Orissa.

However, the Act not only bans Contractors but also restricts the use of machinery (to the extent

practicable) and sets out an upper limit of 40 per cent on the material component (including wages of

skilled and semi-skilled workers) in total costs. There is an additional disincentive against high

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material costs in the financial pattern, with the Centre meeting only 75 per cent of the material costs,

leaving the rest to the States.

In order to minimize the State’s expenditure, Tamil Nadu and Orissa have asked the P.Os. to keep

the material component as close to zero as possible. BDOs warned Panchayats that their projects

would be rejected if the material component was ‘high’ even if it was within the permissible limit of 40

per cent.

The second issue is the level at which this ratio is imposed each project, the GP, Block or District?

Those who argue in favour of its application at the most disaggregated level of each individual

Project or at least GP, say that otherwise there would be a tendency to concentrate capital-intensive

works in areas where influential people live; and the less assertive areas will be deprived of

capitalintensive assets. While this argument certainly has some merit, means of production are very

important and over-specification and rigidity at the Project level will tend to reduce the choice of

works that can be taken up and deny a variety in the chosen works. Therefore, the district level

seems most appropriate.

In West Bengal, we came across an opposite problem. Work had to be stopped at a worksite in

Bankura (one which the DM was aware of) because the dug soil had piled up too high and there was

a lot of it lying around the boundary. Workers refused to walk too far at the existing rate, and in any

case, there was no place to throw more earth. This was a clear case for using additional trucks and

labour, but the Panchayat came up with an innovative solution: to approach local brick kilns to pick

and use the soil.

Unemployment allowance

The one thing that puts fear into the hearts of the local and Block administration is the provision for

payment of unemployment allowance. The states are liable for this expense, since the state

government is the implementing authority and the legal guarantor of the employment.

At the moment, the financial aspect is not really at issue since after an initial delay in transferring

funds to the states, the shoe is now on the other foot and there is gross underutilization of funds by

the states (discussed separately in this Report). However, there is a genuine problem faced by all

states about generating earth works in the rainy season, a problem that get exacerbated for those

states that fall in the humid and semi-humid high rainfall areas and are flood prone. Only afforestation

and limited road construction activities can be undertaken from the list of permissible works. Another

deterrent in building all-weather roads is the labour : material ratio. What most states have chosen to

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do is to effectively suspend the guarantee in the rainy season. This has meant the state Schemes

circumscribe the right to the unemployment allowance in some circumstances like the monsoons or

heavy rains.

Another issue in the payment of unemployment allowance is that the states have told officials that

they will be held personally liable for any cases where unemployment allowance has to be paid. This

has resulted in the lower bureaucracy’s vested interest in subverting the demand driven aspect of this

Scheme. They do not encourage applications; if at all some applications are made, they do not issue

dated receipts.

Shortage of Staff

There is an acute shortage of administrative staff: Necessary recruitment for the implementation of

the NREGS has not yet been done, from the gram panchayat level, upwards. Therefore the existing

staff is overburdened.

At the worksite level, the mate is a very important factor in determining the people’s ability to avail

their entitlements. People are quite unclear about the procedure for appointment of mates, the

qualification they must possess, their work and wage. Often, they are relatives of the engineers. Most

workers suggested the mate should be one literate person from amongst them.

Every village must have a Gram Sevak or Village Level Worker, who is a full time government

employee under the National Extension Services. In addition, each GP must have an Executive

Officer. Also, the two streams of village workers, namely the Village Agricultural Worker or Executive

Officer report to the Agricultural Department, and the Gram Sevaks to the BDO. This often results in

lack of co-ordination.

The other major impediment is the lack of technical personnel for surveys, design, estimation and

technical sanction. The suggestion from both Orissa and Tamil Nadu is to have one tecnical assistant

per 15 GPs. West Bengal has adopted a very innovative approach by setting up multi-disciplinary

inter-departmental cells in districts under the stewardship of the DM. These cells divide the tasks,

and many simple tasks are assigned to non-Engineer technical staff.

It is necessary to put in place the Programme Officer as envisaged in the Act, since it is not possible

for the existing officials to continuously bear the responsibility of NREGS. However, there is one

concern that was expressed to us in all the states. They were very concerned about devolving so

much power to a contractual employee, and would prefer to stick to the BDO as PO. Without the

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necessary staff in place, it is impossible to implement the Scheme in its true spirit. In Maharashtra

officials recommended the reinstatement of the post of ‘muster clerk’ to supervise the works on site,

and ensure its proper implementation. The Nandurbar Collector made an important suggestion about

the post of a muster assistant who was formerly appointed by the Maharashtra Government under

the old EGS, his job was to record presence and work and payment of wages. The government later

abolished this post. In their absence, the Scheme was progressively contractualised and lost its

earlier demand driven approach. There was simply no person to handle the administrative work,

which then passed on to the level of agricultural assistants, etc who are few in number.

However, there is the additional aspect of terms of employment that is already showing up. In Tamil

Nadu, for example, the Panchayat Assistants feel resentful because they receive a salary of Rs 800

per month, as opposed to the Computer Operators who get Rs 2000 per month. In any case, these

are considered political appointments, with the present government reportedly dismissing everyone

hired by the previous regime. These issues need sorting out.

The states also said that appointments take time and they require a few more months. Orissa has

decided to appoint one Computer Assistant, one Gram Assistant in each village, and a JE exclusively

for the NREGS in each Block. BDOs will also be authorized to hire CAs on contract. Most states

want to only make temporary appointments, and are worried that there may be demands for

regularization.

They had no response when we asked them the rationale behind this, since the NREGS was

empowered by a Central Act and here to stay, and therefore there was no reason to hire on a

temporary basis.

For all this, the administrative costs need to be much higher, perhaps closer to 6 per cent of the total

cost of the Scheme.

Developing Dynamics?

In villages with a high degree of inequality, both on caste and class lines, the EGA is unleashing a

new political dynamic. The big farmers are very worried that workers will now become more

“independent”, or “demand higher wages”, or not work against loan advances since high interest is

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an important form of under payment. The upper caste landlords have reacted in one (or all) of the

following ways: where they control panchayats and wield an influence on the local administration,

they have (a) ensured no works during the agricultural season (b) restrict the number of eligible

workers per households (c) diverted workers to their own fields while showing them on NREGS

muster rolls.

Dalits in Tamil Nadu complained that the upper caste Sarpanch did not inform them when the

registration started and the photographs were taken. They only got to know when they saw the

women from upper caste landed households dressed in their fineries go out together towards the

School building, which is in the heart of the main village. They then came rushing from the ‘colony’

towards the school, to find out what the fuss was all about. They then demanded to be photographed

too, but had to wait till the upper caste households were photographed. After the upper castes were

photographed, however, the photographer left! The Dalit women told us that the family of the

Sarpanch got photographed first, amid great fanfare! Not once had these upper caste and landed

persons worked in earth works under the FFWP or the JRY.

The predominance of women workers in the Scheme and payment into individual accounts in their

names gave rise to interesting dynamics in the village. Most workers at NREGS worksites are largely

landless Dalit women. They are the only ones desperate enough to work for the abysmally low

wages earned under this Scheme. Men in the village (not only from their household or community)

objected to accounts solely in the names of the women and the control it gives them over the

household finances. They demanded joint accounts for the husband and wife. They couched their

insecurity in two arguments: they claimed they wanted to prevent “marital discord” which was

inevitable if women got too much “financial independence”; and two, they wanted to protect the

women from being cheated and loosing their money. Both arguments one patriarchal and the other

paternalistic were dismissed there and then by the women! They argued that their children would

go hungry if the men got the money, which would reach the liquor vendors instead. They also said

that handling Post Office accounts was a much less daunting proposition than the hard earth over

which they break their backs to earn less than half the minimum wage. Janaki amma put it very

graphically: “If we can walk 15 kilometers to fetch water, you think we don’t know how to drink it?”

There is also a fear amongst the brick kiln owners and the jasmine cultivators in Tamil Nadu that they

will loose their labour, tied for generations through debt advances, working for a pittance. Obviously,

the NREGS is not being implemented in a vacuum and social and political factors play a very

important role in its success. While there are several forces and vested interests that work to

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undermine it, there are others that strengthen it. In general, workers’ ability to access their

entitlements is determined by four factors:

(1) The bargaining power and socioeconomic status of workers is an important element in the

matrix of determinants. Where workers have productive land, or alternative employment

opportunities at an equivalent or higher wage they also get a higher share of their

entitlements.

(2) Another influential factor is the extent of inequity and and the workers’ position in a highly

coercive socioeconomic local hierarchy. The greater the socio-economic inequality, the less

likely are the poor to succeed in getting their full entitlement.

(3) A crucial countervailing factor is the nature and strength of political mobilization and

formation of collectives of the disadvantaged. The strength of mass organizations and

people’s struggles are vital in pressurizing the administration to deliver fully.

(4) Equally important is a proactive and informed administration and adequate staff at the village

and block level.

In those areas where organizations of the poor like agricultural workers unions, farmers’

organizations, women’s organizations are active, there is a greater awareness of rights and the

minimum features of the NREGS. There are more flash points of conflict with the bureaucracy and

the rural elite, and there is also a greater pressure on the bureaucracy to deliver.

Worksite Information Board / FacilitiesDescriptive boards were found at NREGA worksites in all the States with the notable exception of

Maharashtra. The Act provides for four minimal worksite facilities: childcare, shade, drinking water

and first aid. In Maharashtra, we did not find a single crèche in operation, nor were women workers

aware of the provision. At Rui and Shekapur, toddlers were not seen, but small children in the age

group 5+ were found to be working, as mentioned elsewhere in this Report. We asked women what

they did if they had small children; they said they were looked after either by elders, or in their

absence, the older sibling. Many women said that they welcomed the idea of a crèche at the

worksite; it would definitely address a very fundamental need of working women.

However, it appears that the provision of a crèche is not a priority in the implementation of the

Scheme. For one thing, the crèche is to be provided if there are at least 5 children at the worksite.

But the lack of information itself means that women leave children behind at home, so this becomes

an excuse for the administration not to provide for them. But often the greatest stumbling block is the

attitude of the officials. This was exemplified by the District Forest Officer, Nanded, an IFS officer of

the rank of Deputy Conservator of Forests. When we asked him about the provision of crèches on

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EGS sites run by the Forest Department, his reply is worth quoting: “These all are good things, best

on paper”, he said, “these are conditions imposed by elite people. These people are used to working

in such conditions; it is we who introduce them to such alien concepts”. It is unlikely that a bureaucrat

who carries such a view will make an effort to ensure that crèches are provided at worksites run by

his department. It was therefore not surprising that the Tehsildar, Mahur and other officials have

virtually ignored the provision for crèche, to the detriment of the women workers.

From our discussion with women at worksites and in the village, we found that the most important

reason they did not bring children (unless they were breastfed infants) was because they did not

know about the facility and even if they knew there was uncertainty about the number of children who

would come. SHGs could systematize the process so that usually there were enough children to

justify a person to look after them, and on the odd day when this did not happen, the administration

could provide childcare anyway.

Table 50: Distance of Worksite and Facilities Provided in Maharashtra

S. No. District/Village

How far is the worksite from your home/village?

Worksite Facilities

min (in kms)

max (in kms)

Drinking water Creche

First aid Shade

Nanded1Sakur 1 2No No No No2Lanji 0.5 Yes No No No3Dokapur 1 2Yes No No No4Sreni* 30 60Yes No No No5Rui 2 4Yes No No No

*Migrants from village Sakur

As far as provision of drinking water at worksites in Maharashtra is concerned, although all sites had

employed women to fetch water, it was pitifully inadequate, particularly in view of the hard work and

the intense heat in which it is being done. As a woman at Shekapur put it, “we have to fight for water

(‘maramari’)”. Here, for example, there were 3 women who brought water from a distance of 2

kilometres from the site, making 7-8 trips in a day, but it was still not enough for the 70 odd workers

on site. There was not a single site that had been provided with a first-aid box in Maharashtra.

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Table 51: Distance of Worksite and Facilities provided in Orissa

S. No.

District/Village

Distance between worksite and their home/village (in km)

Worksite Facilities

Drinking water Creche First aid Shade < 2 2 - 5 > 5 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No

Mayurbhanj1Bodhimoha 87.50 12.50 - Yes - - No Yes - - No2Sarsa 60.00 40.00 - Yes - - No 90 10.00 10.00 90.003Sarmula 83.33 - 16.67 Yes - - No Yes - 16.67 83.334Dhansul 25.00 75.00 - Yes - - No Yes - - No5Rsagobindpur - Yes - Yes - - No Yes - - No6Kanthi - Yes - Yes - - No Yes - - No7Muniditulagadi Yes - - Yes - - No Yes - - No8Samanandpur - Yes - Yes - - No Yes - - No9Dualia Yes - - Yes - - No Yes - - No

10Dimagadia Yes - - Yes - - No Yes - - No11Godhimara. Yes - - 33.33 66.67 No Yes - - No12Radho Yes - - Yes - Yes - Yes - Yes -

Sundergarh13Sunamoonhi Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes14Musapusa 80.00 20.00 - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes15Jhirpani Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes16Jagda Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes17Jhirpani Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes18Kell Yes - - 60.00 40.00 - Yes 60.00 40.00 - Yes19Sanakhjurinali Yes - - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes20Jharabeda 90.00 10.00 - Yes - - Yes Yes - - Yes

In Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, there were a few instances of insect bite (kathandu) and a few

injuries for which the Sarpanch provided immediate help. But these were from his private funds due

to the lack of awareness that the money should come from Project funds. Drinking water was

provided on most sites, though there were complaints that it was woefully inadequate. In Tamil

Nadu’s Villupuram district, we came across the practice of providing separate vesels for Dalits on

grounds of untouchability/purity. We brought this to the notice of the DM. In Orissa, the worksites

barely provided drinking water, with little or no facilities for shade and childcare.

Table 52: Distance of Worksite and Facilities provided in West Bengal

S. No. District/VillageDistance between worksite and their home/village (in km)

Drinking water Creche First aid Shade

< 2 2 - 4 > 4 Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No Bankura

1Salboni 33.33 33.33 33.33 Yes - Yes - - No Yes -2Hariyargara Yes - - Yes - Yes - - No Yes -3Kankradara Yes - - Yes - Yes - - No Yes -

Midnapur4Karngarh 40.00 60.00 - Yes - Yes - Yes - Yes -5Jambani 70.00 30.00 - Yes - No - No Yes -

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In West Bengal, First Aid Boxes do not seem to have reached the worksites. In Jambani, several

women complained of the absence of childcare at worksites.

Women and NREGA

Women dominate EGA worksites in all States. Women mostly do the NREGS work since the wages

are exceedingly low and men prefer to go out of the village for work, while women need to remain

closer home to fulfill their household responsibilities. Most women at the NREGS worksites earned a

wage of Rs. 25 to 50 per day, paid in cash. A majority of them had got work for 4-10 days, which was

inadequate. They earned far less than promised due to the shortfall in measurement.

The NREGS has the potential of addressing women’s practical needs through wage employment and

the creation of assets that address basic needs of food, water, fuel, fodder, etc. It can also address

their strategic needs by improving their status and structured involvement in local area development

and better intra-family division of work. For this, community based women’s groups such as SHGs

play a very important role. This can help in the more confident and effective expression of needs and

affect the selection of works. The greater status brought about through income can combine with the

self-confidence brought about by collectives and interaction to undermine social barriers. We found

examples of this in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. In West Bengal, we came across SHGs that

collectively applied for work and even put up Project proposals for sanction under the NREGS. In

Tamil Nadu, association in SHGs gave landless Dalit women the confidence o stand up to the might

of upper caste landed Sarpanches on the issue of wages and begar.

There are many examples of SHGs taking the initiative – be it in application for work, or

implementation of Projects. However, there are many instances where the SHGs have had to spend

their own money and the state government has not yet reimbursed them.

There were several suggestions of women friendly economic activities and projects such as

afforestation, civic services, soil conservation, social forestry, horticulture, floriculture, etc. There

were also several requests for training and literacy programmes converging with the NREGS and

labour costs coming from it. Physical infrastructure for social development such as anganwadis,

health centers, crèches in the village, ration shops, were also priorities. However, for all this, apart

from the labour:material cost ratio, the list of permissible works will have to change.

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One very useful suggestion from Orissa was that a land improvement package that includes land

leveling, farm bunding and a farm pond should be permitted and encouraged on farms of female

headed households as well as farms of migrant workers where women predominantly do the farming.

Most people are unaware of this provision for land improvement even for whom it is allowed, namely,

SCs, STs, and beneficiaries of IAY and land reforms.

The one-third reservation for women in Panchayats is an important (albeit with varying degrees of

effectiveness) mechanism for addressing women’s needs through decentralized development. The

experience across the country is uneven, and in some places women have made a successful

contribution to gender needs, in others their presence has remained a mere formality. The male

family members or ‘pati panches’ have often subverted it by usurping the powers of elected women

representatives. There is substantial scope for elected women representatives to provide leadership

in the selection and design of works as well as provision of basic worksite facilities through capacity

building and awareness generation camps. SHGs can play a vital role in this.

Within the NREGS, there are certain basic issues pertaining to women’s work and working conditions

that must be addressed. These include individual cards, the wage rate, equal wages for men and

women, individual payment of wages to women workers, part payment in grain, worksite facilities like

childcare, drinking water, shade, rest, convenient timings, first aid facilities, etc.

The registration of female headed households is one of the most crucial requirements of women.

Two widows were refused cards on the grounds that they were old, even though they worked under

the FFWP. They were looked after their sons and daughters-in-law, which was very humiliating for

them since they considered themselves capable of manual work. While these two women did not

receive any pension, others who did still objected very strongly to their exclusion unless their

pensions were raised to Rs 500 per month.

Women have to get individual cards and the local administration must organize a separate meetings

of women workers. We usually went in teams of 4 or 5 women, and made clear that our aim was to

address women’s needs and concerns in the programme. Despite this, men, who too were full of

questions about the nitty gritty, often dominated the discussion. We had to repeatedly get women into

the discussion. It is therefore essential to organize separate meetings with women.

Adequate childcare facilities must be provided. Most women would prefer these to be located in the

village and not worksites, unless they are breast-feeding the child. There were several requests for

permanent day care centres. Women also felt that if migration was reduced, they could send their

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children to school. There is very high illiteracy amongst the women workers. In fact, female illiteracy

is high in all age groups. This is an important opportunity for not only imparting skills but also basic

literacy. There could be dovetailing with adult literacy programmes. Then there are larger issues of

gender equity and an improved status of women through changing intra-family and intra-village

equations. Will more time on NREGS worksites result in greater burden on women, or will there be a

consequent sharing of domestic responsibilities? It’s early days yet, and whether this touches core

areas like the division of labour within the family and society and are women taking more effective

initiative in village affairs like planning and development remains to be seen. This will definitely

depend on the extent of development of women’s organizations and institutional support from

government machinery to occupy the spaces created by policy and law. It is for this reason that the

NREGS has to converge with literacy programmes and community mobilization initiatives like SHGs.

There is of course no escape from the double burden of housework; women at all worksites told us

that they got up at 4 am so that they could finish cooking before reporting to the site as early as

possible to beat the sun. The shortage of water during the summer adds to their woes, since they

have to walk a very long distance to fetch it. Even male workers conceded that this was a particular

problem faced by women and felt something had to be done to ease it.

Two very interesting outcomes of the Scheme from a gender perspective in Orissa are that there is a

reduction in lewd remarks and harassment of women workers in the village and families are

beginning to purchase books for their daughters.

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VI CONCLUSION

A unique and radical programme of this kind that marks a fundamental departure from previous

approaches requires time to be fully or even substantially streamlined. Unfortunately, there is a sense

of nervousness in the bureaucracy fostered by the prevailing climate of ‘fiscal downsizing’ that has

resulted in a narrow and parsimonious Scheme, which might ultimately squeeze the life out of it. This

is due to high productivity norms resulting in low wages, low coverage and reduced per capita

entitlements through the adoption of a broad all-encompassing definition of household and absence

of systems to engender application-driven implementation. Combined with fiscal conservatism, this

has led to extremely low utilisation of funds and aggregate expenditure. The administrative message

that has gone down is zero tolerance for wrongdoing in this Scheme, the Centre is watching. This

has stifled initiative where it was possible, and given rise to the tendency to do the minimum, erring

on the side of conservatism.

Inadequate Spending: The main characteristic of the Scheme is sluggish and low spending rather

than wastage and ‘leakages’ (though there are a few instances of the latter, too!). The lower

bureaucracy seems to be in the grips of some kind of fear and lethargy, or simply a resistance to

disturbing the pre-existing power equations at the local level. They are terribly worried about litigation

and the transparency clauses. Panchayat Presidents complain about non-issuance of work orders by

BDOs, JEs are worried about giving technical sanction. There is also insufficient staff. And of course,

the rains started just after the first phase of registeration. Nonetheless, the Governments need to

loosen up and take the plunge and generate more work, after revising the SoRs.

Administration: Good bureaucrats can make a great deal of difference to the degree of success in

implementation. In general, the lower bureaucracy, esp. at the Block level, tends to be far less

proactive than the district officials. The existing government machinery is inadequate at the village

and Block level to handle this Scheme. Far more technical persons are required and PRIs need more

staff and funds of all types. In fact, staffing and spending are inter-related. Once there is adequate

staff at the GP and Block level, the States can absorb more expenditure, and vice versa. It is

important that the Rozgar Sevak be appointed and his/her duties spelt out. This is an important

recommendation, because there is a genuine lack of staff at the block and the village level to

administer the scheme, so even well meaning officials are handicapped, particularly in backward

districts (where the Scheme is predominantly located at present — as it is, there is a shortage of staff

there).

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Entitlements: If there is one word which can describe the present phase of the NREGS, it is

parsimonious. Despite the fact that it is supposed to be a demand-driven programme, unrestrained

by budgetary allocations, in practice there is an attempt to keep the entitlements extremely narrow.

The three main entitlements under the NREGS are a 100 days of employment per rural household

at minimum wages with some minimal worksite facilities (with unemployment allowance if work is not

provided).

And yet, implementation falters on all key aspects, namely:

Payment of minimum wages through fair and simple productivity norms

Definition of household as nuclear (and hence per capita entitlements) and recognition of

single member and female headed households

Provision of worksite facilities and work tools to the poor

Payment of unemployment allowance

Selection of works: A related issue is the great potential this Scheme holds for local area planning

and development. The highly restricted definition of works robs PRIs and gram sabhas of initiative

and results in an obsession with CCT/CPT roads and big ponds. It also neglects the provision of

social infrastructure. Apart from social development, there should be announcement and wide

publicity of a land improvement package that includes land leveling, farm bunding and a farm pond

not only for the already permitted SCs, STs, IAY beneficiaries and land reform allottees, but also

wholly or predominantly female headed farms. The period of greatest hunger and need fall in

between post-sowing and pre-harvest Kharif. Unfortunately, these are also the high rainfall months

of August – September, when large-scale earth works are not possible. It is very important to be

more flexible in the selection of works for at least these months. There is a strong demand from

women for individual beneficiary schemes and income generation activities like horticulture,

sericulture, food processing, especially in the rainy months.

Demand driven approach: At the moment the Programme is not demand-driven. The GP should

launch a campaign for spreading information about applications, and for the first two years at least,

there should be a door-to-door survey every trimester. This should not only inform people about this

crucial aspect of the Programme but also solicit applications.

Women’s issues: There are systemic forces which result in invisibilising women's work through a

focus on productivity-linked earth works and high productivity requirements. The urge to save costs

and make additional assets by exploiting existing gender biases that already invisibilise women's

work and pay her less/nothing for her labour is the most important underlying factor behind the

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continued clubbing together of easily divisible tasks and low payment. In a sense, women’s labour at

public worksites gets treated almost in the same way as women’s work in the household.

Unfortunately, administrative laziness has exacerbated this situation further whereby difficulty in

computing women’s work has resulted in it not being recognized as independent work.

The most important interventions for women are the following: the payment of minimum wages; part

payment of wages in grain (calculated at BPL prices); the issuing of individual job cards to women;

registration of female-headed single/multi-member households; a door-to-door survey by the GP to

ascertain the approximate time of year when they want work and application for it at the time;

provision of worksite facilities; selecting women-friendly Projects and labour processes, etc. There is

a strong demand from women for individual beneficiary schemes and income generation activities

like horticulture, sericulture, food processing, especially in the rainy months.

The Elderly: The tendency to exclude those above 60 years of age must be discouraged.

Productivity norms for the elderly must be no more than 75 per cent of the rate for males. In any

case, the National Old Age Pension Scheme must be universalized, the amount of pension must be

raised to Rs 500 per month and the eligibility simply be the attainment of 60 years of age.

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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

I. CRITIQUE OF STATE SCHEMES

Nowhere have states appointed Programme Officers, and BDOs are designated as Programme

Officers everywhere. The BDOs end up being overburdened.

Some Areas of Concern in State SchemesWest BengalHouseholds are not defined as nuclear family, nor are single-member households recognizedThere is no provision for individual cardsBDOs are extremely wary of encouraging applications or implementing the unemployment clause since 11 (5) threatens disciplinary action "In all cases where unemployment allowance is due to be paid…and if the reasons are not satisfactory the State Government may initiate suitable action against the defaulters."10(2) and 8(a) allow the liability to pay unemployment allowance to cease under certain circumstances such as high rainfall, floods, water logging and other natural calamities, which is a dilution of the guarantee at the time when it is needed the most, namely the post-sowing food-deficit months of August and SeptemberSection 19 permits non-payment of minimum wages by putting the onus of productivity fully on the workers with the wages directly linked with the quantity of work done. "…lower quantum of work will lead to payment of proportionately lower wage." There is no obligation on the State Government to have a schedule of rates that ensure that workers normally earn the minimum wage rate. The State Employment Guarantee Council was not constituted by mid-September but was due shortly. Tamil NaduUnder 4(iii), the payment of minimum wages is subject to the out-turn of work as determined by the schedule of rural rates. However, even though the State Scheme does not so specify, the government has taken the commendable step to revise the schedule of rural rates in such a way that workers can earn the minimum wage. Contractors are not explicitly banned in the Government Order.The Gram Panchayats may either execute the works themselves or handover the works for execution to the line department/ Self Help Groups, if necessary.The government has issued an order to ensure a high threshold level and large works since they argue that will make monitoring easier by reducing the number of worksites. They have placed a lower limit of Rs 3 lakhs. Works with a material component within the permissible 40 per cent are often rejected, and the State Government has asked DPCs to keep this near-zero

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Some Areas of Concern in State Schemes (contd.)OrissaThe verification process is unnecessarily complicated and requires documentary evidence for age, local residence and household entity. The Gram Panchayat is required to refer to the electoral rolls of the GP, scrutinize voter ID card and/or other evidences Photographs are compulsory on the single job-cards for each household. PRIs can execute these works through Line Departments/reputed NGOs/Self Help Groups/Other Central or State Government Agencies, etc. However, no clear procedure or criteria is laid out for the selection of NGOs or SHGs.The intimation to applicants regarding when and where to report for work is only to be displayed at the offices of implementing agencies rather than the residence/ notice board in the village of residence Labourers are expected to turn out the quantity of works required as per the schedule of rates to be "eligible" for minimum wages. The insertion of the word "diligently" is not in conformity with the NREGA and introduces an element of discretion and provides a ready excuse for underpaymentThere is also no safeguard against delayed paymentsThere is no prescribed manner for compensationPrivate parties are not debarred from making payments.There are no procedures regarding the system of wage payment. In accordance with 23(4) of the NREGA, this should be in public and in prescribed manner. MaharashtraIn districts not notified under NREGA, the Zilla Panchayats and line departments will continue to be the implementation agencies, and the three-tier administrative structure, with the Collector and Tehsildar will be in charge at the district and block level respectively.

Wages are to be paid on a piece rate basis - "according to the quantity of work done on the basis of rates for different items so fixed that an average person working diligently for 7 hours a day will earn equal to the minimum wage”. Again, the use of diligence is not in conformity with the NREGA.Wages are to be paid within 15 days after closure of the fortnightly muster, which might imply payment after 30 days of work and therefore violates the NREGA.

II. Implementation Of NREGS

Some State Governments have taken important steps to ensure minimum wage payment, in

conformity with the Act. While Tamil Nadu has substantively reduced out turn requirements, Orissa is

on the way to revising its Schedule of Rates. Maharashtra has revised its minimum wages upwards

to Rs 66. West Bengal has made marginal download revisions of out turn requirements in two

districts, not enough to ensure minimum wage payment.

A. General Observations Common To All/Most States

There is a general tendency to keep spending low through a combination of measures that violate the

NREGA in letter and spirit. This is through low coverage of the eligible population in notified districts,

unfulfilled entitlements even of the registered population, inadequate administrative capabilities and

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little effort to overcome deficiencies in manpower, skills and training, impermissible restrictions on

eligibility, verification, works, etc.

There are systemic forces at work which result in invisibilising women's work through a focus on

productivity-linked earth works and high productivity requirements. The urge to save costs and make

additional assets by exploiting existing gender biases that already invisibilise women's work and pay

her less/nothing for her labour is the most important underlying factor behind the continued clubbing

together of easily divisible tasks and low payment. In a sense, women’s labour at public worksites

gets treated almost in the same way as women’s work in the household. Unfortunately, administrative

laziness has exacerbated this situation further whereby difficulty in computing women’s work has

resulted in not being recognized as independent work.

1. Access and Registration

Registration is not seen as a continuous process and “last dates” are announced

Documentary proof for verification of age, residence and family entity like Ration Cards, Voter

ID cards etc. are insisted upon

Non-issuance of individual cards

Non-recognition of separated/divorced women in natal home and female headed households

as independent households

Lack of will to register female headed households, the elderly and handicapped

Arbitrary and unjustifiable criteria like age, BPL card, income, or disability etc. for eligibility not

permitted by the Act

Exclusion of migrants

Backlog in registration and very high gap between registration and job card distribution

2. Entitlements

Use of the Census definition of household as common kitchen instead of nuclear family and

consequent reduction of per capita entitlements

Very low wages (close to market wages) and non-payment of minimum wages

Unrealistically high productivity norms under piece rate

No distinction between male and female outturn requirements, no reduction in norms for

women and the elderly

Inadequate identification of separate tasks in the labour processin the Schedule of Rates

Imprecise task specification and decomposition, sketchy soil identification, stingy lift and lead

provision and faulty measurement of outturn at worksites

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Despite the amendment in Parliament deleting the requirement of ‘diligence’, most states

have retained it to describe work;

Delayed wage payment, ranging from 3 to 4 weeks.

Payment in cash only in most places is not in keeping with workers’ preferences for foodgrain

No attempt to encourage applications for work

Inadequate generation of employment

No unemployment allowance or compensation paid to anyone

Poor worksite facilities, esp. childcare and drinking water

Insufficient resources with workers to purchase implements and non-provision of implements

by the implementing agencies

3. Administrative and Financial Issues

Massive under utilization of EGS funds

Low awareness about details of Scheme on the part of potential beneficiaries, panchayat

members and officials

Lack of official will to transform from a supply driven public works programme to a demand

driven employment guarantee

Shortage of staff, especially technical staff, and a hesitation to hire Block level Programme

Officers on contract or permanent basis

Inappropriate persons appointed as mates without adequate skills

Absence of muster rolls at worksites

Non-innovative approach in the selection of works with an overemphasis on roads and ponds

No creative thinking on works in the most food-deficit rainy months when there is greates

need for wage employment and lowest possibility of large-scale earth works

Delayed commencement of work due to non-issuance of work orders despite sanctions

Unwillingness to provide necessary means of production or material costs even to the extent

permitted under the Act

Reluctance to include the cost of implements in Project material costs

Monitoring and vigilance committees have not been formed in most states

B. State Specific Observations (emerging from the State Seminar)

I. West Bengal

1. The existing Census definition of household on the basis of common kitchen is being

followed. This has resulted in an average of 3.3 eligible workers per job card. The definition of

household must be nuclear family

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2. At the moment, only household cards are being issued. Individual cards must be issued to

facilitate women’s empowerment

3. Female-headed and single member female households are subsumed within joint families

with common kitchen, esp. in natal homes. Several female-headed households are excluded

from registration as independent households. Female headed households and married but

separated daughters in natal homes as well as widows must be given separate cards. The

definition of households must include single-member households

4. Workers earn between half to two-third of the minimum wage under the existing task-based

productivity norms. This is for three reasons: very high productivity norms; clubbing together

of the tasks for loosening, digging and lifting; and the same norms for men, women and older

persons despite differential ability. A small downward revision in outturn requirements in

Bankura and Birbhum has not succeeded in earning more than three-fourth of the minimum

wage. Productivity norms in the Schedule of Rates need to be further reduced by thirty to fifty

per cent in order to ensure payment of minimum wages. Furthermore, the norms for women

must be no more than 85 per cent of the norm for men, and the norms for the elderly must not

exceed 67 per cent of the norm for men. Finally, there must be no clubbing together of

different tasks and component activities must be clearly identified and demarcated. Instead of

the current practice of covering lift and lead under digging, lifting and throwing must become

separate tasks with appropriate rates.

5. There must be part payment of wages in foodgrain, a major impediment to which is that the

central government has decided not to send grain for this Scheme.

6. There were no crèches for children at the worksites, for which reason women did not bring

children with them, and the local administration claimed that they did not provide childcare

since no children came. Even if a woman is deputed to look after the children when there are

5 or more such children at the worksite, there are no proper facilities for a crèche and

therefore women feel constrained to bring their children to the worksite. Proper crèches and

daycare centers with some provision for nutrition may be set up in the village itself as an

NREGS activity or through dovetailing with the ICDS programme. Furthermore, the number of

people who can be provided drinking water by one person should not exceed 30, since

repeated trips have to be made to refill the pots.

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7. Very crucial to think of works which can be taken up in the period of greatest need, which are

needed most, the months of low food security when distress out-migration is highest, after

sowing and before harvesting in kharif. These cover the rainy months of August and

September. At this time, heavy rain does not permit large scale earth works.

8. Apart from public works, some women-friendly livelihood generating activities may be taken

up, like sericulture, horticulture, food processing, processing of minor forest produce, etc.

9. The Government should evolve a special land improvement package for female-headed

farms that includes land leveling, farm bunding, fruit trees and fodder plantation on bunds and

a farm pond.

10. The labour component under the Indira Awas Yojana may also be paid from the NREGS.

Another suggestion is the permission to produce low cost mud bricks for buildings, which

have many advantages like being easily transferable, no fuel requirement, no environmentally

hazardous consequences, easy repair and maintenance. If the NREGS were to permit such

construction activities, an alternative building technology could be evolved.

11. Drive to generate awareness and train government officials and Panchayat representatives

12. The entire edifice of groups performing such earth works rests on family-based couples or

jodis, usually a husband and a wife. Single women find it very difficult to find a partner and are

therefore not included in groups. Such women may be paid on a time-rate basis.

13. It was pretty evident that a single mate can not manage a site of more than 70-75 workers,

and this should be the norm. Larger worksites should have two mates.

II. Tamil Nadu

1. The state government has taken two very commendable steps. They have substantially

revised productivity norms in order to ensure the payment of minimum wages to workers on

NREGS worksites after time and motion studies.

2. They have also very successfully issued individual cards.

3. However, the operational definition of household is common kitchen, which must be changed

to nuclear family (including single-member households).

4. During the survey in June and July we found that though the pace of registration was

sluggish, the distribution of job cards was even slower. This picture changed by October, by

when registration had increased and the gap between registered households and job cards

distributed had reduced considerably.

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5. There is a huge gap in the performance between the two districts, with Nagapattinam doing

much better than Villupuram

6. Additionally, there is a widespread use of arbitrary and unjustifiable criteria like age, BPL

card, income, or disability etc. for eligibility, with an exclusion of the elderly and disabled

7. Several female-headed households and separated/widowed/abandoned women living in natal

homes are not recognized as independent households and either excluded completely or

included in their natal family’s job cards.

8. There was a widespread exclusion of migrants, since registration was not seen as a

continuous process

9. The elderly are being deliberately left out

10. Workers face a problem of funds to purchase implements and there is also high wear and

tear, and it is a good idea for PRIs to buy the implements under the material component of the

NREGS

11. There are two state government instructions, one requiring a lower limit of Rs 3 lakhs on

works under the NREGS and the second not allowing the 40 per cent material component

permissible under the NREGA. We are of the view that these are needlessly restrictive. The

rationale put forward by the state government is that a Rs 3 lakhs lower limit is financially

feasible since the existing money permits 8 to 9 such works per village. It will facilitate longer

duration employment, timely payment, easier measurement, better monitoring, lower

administrative burden and costs. They also argued that the moment material component is

permitted, contractors will follow since organization of materials is difficult and leakages will

occur. Therefore, all essential concrete structures should come from other Schemes through

dovetailing.

12. Workers demand part payment of wages in foodgrains, and say that if the existing quality

being distributed at Rs 2 a kg is given it should be valued at Rs 2, or better quality rice should

be given at BPL prices

13. Worksite facilities are extremely poor in Villupuram, but even elsewhere, they are inadequate

14. There is a need to encourage job applications, which the state government said it intended to

do through a special effort.

15. We found the discriminatory practice of separate pots for drinking water for Dalits in some

worksites in Villupuram

16. Gram Panchayats need administrative support by way of Computer Operators and technical

staff as well as more diesel for the GP vehicles.

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17. Vigilance and Monitoring Committees must be formed in all the GPs so that there can be

more accountable and transparent functioning

III. Orissa

1. Families are being registered on the basis of common kitchen and documentary proof is

insisted upon.

2. Money was charged for photographs.

3. Low coverage of the population, especially female-headed households

4. Wages earned are between one-third to one-half of the minimum wages due to high

productivity norms.

5. Continuing domination of contractors and their proxies through the institution of the VLL

6. Excessive use of machinery in the labour process

7. Irregularities in the maintenance of muster rolls

8. By the government’s own admission, there are departmental proceeding against 287 BDOs

out of the total 314

9. Failure of VLLs to act in an accountable and honest fashion. VLLs tend to be Contractors or

their proxies, indulging in many irregularities. The State Government has now promised to

issue an order that Work Orders should not be given to VLLs.

10. Apart from the inadequacy of staff, there is the additional problem that VLWs are not under

the BDO. The BDOs thus find it difficult to hold the VLWs accountable

11. Forcible confiscation of the job cards by VLLs from the workers

12. Needless insistence on keeping the material component very low, below the permissible 40

per cent

13. Lack of clarity on the level at which the labour material ratio is to be implemented

14. Very low wages due to high productivity norms, the Rourkela-based NIT is conducting time

and motion studies to carry out revision in SOR

15. Inordinate delays in the payment of wages

16. In many parts of the state, esp. the Naxal-affected districts, works have not commenced at all

and most people express surprise at the high level of utilization according to government

figures

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17. Several instances of SHGs implementing works but not receiving payment from the

government

IV. Maharashtra

1. There is a great deal of confusion between the MREGS and the NREGS. For this reason, the

welcome provision for individual registration has come in conflict with the central requirement of

household job cards.

2. It is very disappointing to see that despite the long experience, implementation of the NREGS is

amongst the tardiest here.

3. After an initial registration drive, there has been no effort to ensure that workers, especially

migrants and those unaware of the Scheme are registered. No particular efforts have been

made to register single women and the elderly.

4. General awareness about the Scheme is limited to its existence, but not its particular provisions.

5. The proportion of those who have been issued job/identity cards remains very low.

6. People are not aware that is a demand driven scheme. The decision to start works is largely

administrative, and not in response to the demand for work. Even where work has been

demanded by aware citizens, it has not been provided.

7. Unemployment allowance has not been paid where work has not been provided after demand.

8. There has been no effort to involve people in the choice of works.

9. Child labour was evident on worksites.

10. Effective wage rates are well below the prescribed minimum. Productivity norms are such that

they require very hard work and long hours to earn the minimum wage. There have been no

efforts to revise the norms, in fact the administration appears to justify them and claims that

earnings on the EGS are adequate.

11. Workers are not aware of the prescribed wage rates. Muster rolls are not available on site.

Payments are inordinately delayed.

12. Workers expressed a desire for wages in kind. Particularly in the form of food grain. Work site

facilities are inadequate. There are no crèches and there appears to be no desire to provide

them.

13. By and large, the approach of the administration continues to be the same as with the earlier

NREGS; there is no particular effort down the line to ensure that the basic principles of local

employment for rural development by a transparent and democratic process are put into

practice.

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14. Preparation of estimates is a major bottleneck.

C. Main Recommendations

A unique and radical programme of this kind that marks a fundamental departure from previous

approaches requires time to be fully or even substantially streamlined. Unfortunately, there is a sense

of nervousness in the bureaucracy that has resulted in a narrow and parsimonious Scheme, which

might ultimately squeeze the life out of it. This stems from pessimism of the developmental

outcomes of this programme, suspicion surrounding its empowerment spin-off and changing balance

of power and an overall climate of fiscal tightening and low spending. This gets reflecting in high

productivity norms resulting in low wages; low coverage; reduced per capita entitlements through the

definition of household on the basis of common kitchen, and absence of systems to engender

application-driven implementation. Narrowing of the Scheme’s coverage and entitlements triggered

by fiscal conservatism has led to extremely low utilisation of funds and aggregate expenditure. The

administrative message that has gone down is zero tolerance for wrongdoing in this Scheme. This

has stifled initiative where it was possible, and given rise to the tendency to do the minimum, erring

on the side of conservatism. The economic and political significance of the Scheme must be

repeatedly conveyed to change the present mindset.

Increase Spending: The main characteristic of the Scheme is sluggish and low spending rather than

wastage and ‘leakages’. The lower bureaucracy seems to be in the grips of some kind of fear and

lethargy, or simply a resistance to disturbing the pre-existing power equations at the local level. They

are terribly worried about litigation and the transparency clauses. Panchayat Presidents complain

about non-issuance of work orders by BDOs, JEs are worried about giving technical sanction. There

is also insufficient staff. And of course, the rains started just after the first phase of registration.

Nonetheless, the Governments need to loosen up, take the plunge and generate more work, after

revising the SoRs.

Hire more Staff: Good bureaucrats can make a great deal of difference to the degree of success in

implementation. In general, the lower bureaucracy, esp. at the Block level, tends to be far less

proactive than the district officials. The existing government machinery is inadequate at the village

and Block level to handle this Scheme. Far more technical persons are required and PRIs need more

staff and funds of all types. In fact, staffing and spending are inter-related. Once there is adequate

staff at the GP and Block level, the States can absorb more expenditure, and vice versa. It is

important that the Rozgar Sevak be appointed and his/her duties spelt out. This is an important

recommendation, because there is a genuine lack of staff at the block and the village level to

administer the scheme, so even well meaning officials are handicapped, particularly in backward

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districts (where the Scheme is predominantly located at present — as it is, there is a shortage of staff

there). Permissible administrative costs must reach 6 to 8 per cent of total costs.

Ensure Continuous Registration: It is unfortunate that even 7 months after introduction, there is

such a huge backlog in registration and job card distribution. There is need for greater pace and

simpler procedures. Documentary verification is an unnecessary impediment when the GP and gram

sabha can be more effective, speedy and simple.

Honour Entitlements: If there is one word which can describe the present phase of the NREGS, it is

parsimonious. Despite the fact that it is supposed to be a demand-driven programme, unrestrained

by budgetary allocations, in practice there is an attempt to keep the entitlements extremely narrow.

The four main entitlements under the NREGS are a 100 days of employment per rural household at

minimum wages with some minimal worksite facilities (with unemployment allowance if work is not

provided).

And yet, implementation falters on all key aspects, namely:

Payment of minimum wages through fair and simple productivity norms

Definition of household as nuclear (and hence per capita entitlements) and recognition of

single member and female headed households

Provision of worksite facilities and work tools to the poor

Payment of unemployment allowance

This must change, and workers should receive their legally sanctioned due.

Implements should be treated as means of production and provided for under the material

component.

Part Wages in Grain: Nearly all workers demanded part payment of wages in foodgrain (calculated

at BPL prices), for household food security.

More Broad-based selection of works: A related issue is the great potential this Scheme holds for

local area planning and development. The highly restricted definition of works robs PRIs and gram

sabhas of initiative and results in an obsession with CCT/CPT roads and big ponds. It also neglects

the provision of social infrastructure. Apart from social development, there should be announcement

and wide publicity of a land improvement package that includes land leveling, farm bunding and a

farm pond not only for the already permitted SCs, STs, IAY beneficiaries and land reform allottees,

but also wholly or predominantly female headed farms. Works that are already permitted under the

various Plan and non-Plan Centrally Sponsored Schemes should be automatically permitted. The

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period of greatest hunger and need fall in between post-sowing and pre-harvest Kharif.

Unfortunately, these are also the high rainfall months of August – September, when large-scale earth

works are not possible. It is very important to be more flexible in the selection of works for at least

these months. There is a strong demand from women for individual beneficiary schemes and income

generation activities like horticulture, sericulture, food processing, especially in the rainy months.

Demand driven approach: At the moment the Programme is not demand-driven. The GP should

launch a campaign for spreading information about applications, and for the first two years at least,

there should be a door-to-door survey every trimester. This should not only inform people about this

crucial aspect of the Programme but also generate applications. The onus must rest in part on the

government to provide 100 days of work.

Women’s issues: The most important interventions for women are the following: the payment of

minimum wages; part payment of wages in grain (calculated at BPL prices); the issuing of individual

job cards to women; registration of female-headed single/multi-member households; a door-to-door

survey by the GP to ascertain the approximate time of year when they want work and application for

it at the time; provision of worksite facilities and provision of Crèches with some meal Scheme;

selecting women-friendly Projects and labour processes, a special land improvement package for

farms headed by female farmers; etc. There is a strong demand from women for individual

beneficiary schemes and income generation activities like horticulture, sericulture, food processing,

especially in the rainy months.

The Elderly: The tendency to exclude those above 60 years of age must be discouraged.

Productivity norms for the elderly must be no more than 75 per cent of the rate for males. In any

case, the National Old Age Pension Scheme must be universalized, the amount of pension must be

raised to Rs 500 per month and the eligibility simply be the attainment of 60 years of age.

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APPENDIX OF QUESTIONNAIRES

1. Household Questionnaire Page 106-1092. Meeting with Women Page 110-1123. Interview with District Programme Coordinator and

Block Programme Officer Page 113-116 4. Worksite Questionnaire Page 117-127 5. Panchayat Officials Page 128-129 6. Village Questionnaire Page 130-132

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