Social audit conducted in 35 villages in
two districts
CHENNAI: The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has
succeeded in generating huge employment and achieving considerable
economic empowerment in ten districts across the State, but some
administrative problems continue to limit its effectiveness.
Social audit in 10 villages in Tiruvannamalai district in October and
in 25 villages in Villupuram in July by a group of NGOs have revealed
many positives: employment is being generated on a massive scale and
the minimum wage of Rs.80 is largely being paid with regularity.
However, a reluctance to engage with SC/ST and Below-Poverty-Line (BPL)
communities and a lack of transparency in administration were
significant concerns.
The NREGA has provided, on an average, 63 days of employment to 7.78
lakh households, or around 31 lakh people in the State. Women have
significantly benefited from the Act, making up 82 per cent of those
employed.
“There are many positives. The Act is not just generating employment
and wages, but it is also creating valuable assets for future
generations,” Annie Raja, member of the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Council, said on Saturday.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a State-wide meeting organised by
the Right to Food Campaign (Tamil Nadu) to assess the impact of the Act
across the State. It was attended by more than 200 people, including
panchayat leaders, NGOs and workers on NREGA sites from various
districts.
Ms. Raja expressed concern over a recent Central move to revise NREGA
wages to bring them in line with Public Works Department schedules of
rates. This would mean that wages would likely fall below the current
minimum of Rs. 80. “In these districts, people are now planning their
lives around the 80 rupees,” she said. “We do not have the right to
take that away from them.”
She warned that a significant problem was a widespread reluctance in
the State to take up projects on SC/ST and Below-Poverty-Line (BPL)
lands. In addition to public work projects, the NREGA also allows for
land belonging to SC/ST and BPL families to be developed under the
banner of the Act.
Greater transparency
S. Kannaiyan, convener, Right to Food Campaign (Tamil Nadu), said there
was a need for greater transparency in the maintenance of muster rolls
to enable more accountability in the payment of wages.
Another problem in Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai was the inability of
the administration to generate the 100 days of employment that the Act
guarantees, due to lack of enough projects. On average, only 63 days of
employment have been generated in Tamil Nadu.
“A core issue is lack of administrative staff,” Ms. Raja said. “The
responsibility falls on one person to maintain the muster-rolls, issue
job-cards and handle several other tasks. State governments have to
take a more serious attitude.”
Ashok Vardhan Shetty, State Rural Development Secretary, said the State
recently sanctioned a number of posts and staff shortage was not a
concern. “Initially, we had one technical assistant to monitor ten
panchayats, but now we have one for every eight. We have been expanding
our staff since August, and we will shortly be increasing the number of
engineers. We are making an effort to improve the implementation of the
Act in the State.”
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/30/stories/2007123060070800.htm
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© 2007, The Hindu.
