Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA)
RECENTLY IN NEWS:
- Centre’s flagship rural employment scheme (MGNREGA) — ran out of funds halfway through the financial year.
=>payments for MGNREGA workers as well as material costs will be delayed (unless the States dip into their own funds).
- Earlier introduction of category-wise wage payment system for SC, ST and others, as made applicable from this current financial year (2021–22), to accurately reflect on the ground flow of funds to various population groups
CONTRIBUTION TO STRENGTHENING THE RURAL ECONOMY
=Union Government — wage increase 2000/worker i.e. from 182 to 202/day — benefitting 5cr families.
=Local district commissioners- allocate work and wrt utilise funds, relative to benefit of rural workers in his/her area.
=Union set up Expert committee-Chairman:Ajit Mishra-on fixing minimum wages and National Floor level minimum wages.
WHAT IS MGNREGA?
MAHATMA GANDHI National Rural Employment Guarantee Act(MGNREGA) — social security scheme and law- guaranteed employment provided to any adult- 100 days(now it’s 150 days) work-local public works within 15 days of registration.
=if, employment not given- unemployment allowance is paid(for 100 days?)
MGNREGA 2005-largest work guarantee program in world-roughly 1/3rd of workforce must be women.
OBJECTIVE :-
Addressing causes of chronic poverty via works; ensuring sustainable development.
Improving purchasing power of rural-giving semi/unskilled work BPL .
Strengthen decentralisation-empowers Panchayati Raj Institutions(PRIs) for planning & implementation.
Social security scheme backed by GOI- provides employment+livelihood to rural labourers
=any adult must register under gram panchayats-thus, adult must first enrol himself in this scheme for work.
KEY FEATURES OF MGNREGA:
Implementation:
=monitored by MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT-central with state collabo.
Decentralised planning:
=PRIs — primarily responsible for planning+implementation+monitoring words.
=Gram Sabha- empowered to undertake recommendations and at least 50% of works must be executed.
Application Procedure:
=basic info-name/age/address/photo-to Gram Panchayat
=gram panchayat registers, inquires then registers; issues job card.
=Job card: complete details -can submit application for work in writing(at least 14 or more days) to Panchayat or Programming Officer.
Time-bound work allowance or unemployment allowance:
=work must be given within 15 days of application, failing an ‘employment allowance’ must be given.
Funding aspects:
-shared b/w Centre-states.
THREE MAJOR ITEMS OF EXPENDITURE:-
=WAGE-unskilled/semi-skilled/skilled
=material cost
=administrative cost
On JUNE 2021- GOI — separate budget heads for SC/ST under MGNREGA from financial year 2021–22-wage payment.
Work-site facilities:
=amenities must-creches, drinking water, first aid.
Transparency & Accountability :
=Social audits conducted by Gram Sabha-monitor implementation- thus, improving socio-ethical performance.
OTHER MEASURES:-
1.National Electronic Fund Management System(NeFMS)=Officials given training using electronic system — by National Informatics Centre(NIC).
=NeFMS reduces delay time in receiving funds-receive within 48hrs post panchayats order.
=Aadhar card linked- corruption less.
2.Grievance redressal mechanism: state-level officers monitors complaints-boxes installed at district levels.
3.State quality monitor: govt officials at district levels supervise utilisation of funds.
4.National level monitors: retired/civil servants monitors policy and implementation.
HOW THE SCHEME IS IMPLEMENTED?
Indian administratively divided into STATES and UNION TERRITORIES. State divided into districts →districts into blocks →blocks have wards.
- Funds released by Central govt to states. States give funds to local bodies i.e. gram panchayats(all laborers accounts registered with panchayats).
2. MGNREGA WORK ALLOCATION linked to AGRICULTURE AND ALLIED ACTIVITIES-major works public works like natural resource management/community assets/individual assets/common infrastructure works-permissible works.
3. Raising block plantation/planting trees-community land.
4. Maintenance/building check dams/farm ponds/restoration of irrigation ponds.
5. Construction of roads/anganwadis/digging soak pits/water absorption trenches at foothills to reduce soil erosion .
Such works allocated among interested adults + Socio-economic empowerment of women.
Gram Sabha is public forum for wage seekers to raise voices and make demands.
GRAM SABHA AND PANCHAYAT APPROVES WORKS UNDER MGNREGA AND FIX THEIR PRIORITY.
IMPACT ON INDIAN ECONOMY?
- Changes in social fabric-reduction in distress migration/higher participation by SC&STs+improve purchasing power/increase in avg. wages/equal wages for men-women/economic empowerment of poor women/improvement in rural environment and sanitation/etc.
2. With Direct Beneficiary Transfer(DBT) system introduced by Centre -pay gets directly into the bank account →so corruption chances get less.
NEGATIVE:
- Major financial drain on economic resources.
2. Actual benefits do not reach rural labourers.
3. Funds shrink till it reaches the beneficiaries.
4.Article 243(G) empowers MLA to decide if or not Panchayats need to be empowered-makes fund allocation difficult.
5. leakages/corruption/implementation
IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED:
- Must Ensure Work is Provided despite of demands.
- The government should expand the scheme and focus on value addition and multiply community asset works.
- Strengthening the Scheme: better coordination
=between various government departments and the mechanism to allot and measure the work; government officials must take the initiative to implement the scheme and must not block the work.
- Gender Wage Gap: Women in the sector, on an average, earn 22.24% less than their male counterparts.
