MGNREGS- An overview

Dr.C.Dheeraja
 Context
India is having 22% of the worlds poor
Thus poverty eradication has been the major
objective of the development process
The philosophy underlying the poverty
alleviation programme is to tackle the rural
poverty by endowing the poor with
productive assets and training for raising their
skills so that they are assured of a regular
stream of employment and income in raising
themselves above poverty line
 Employment in the context of
Poverty alleviation programmes
The growth oriented approach for poverty
alleviation focuses on providing greater
opportunities for poor by providing wage and self
employment through different rural development
programmes
 Wage Employment Programmes in
India
Rural Manpower (RMP)1960-61
Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CRSE) 1971-72
Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Programme (PIREP)1972
Small Farmers Development Agency (SFDA) Early Seventies
Marginal Farmers and Agricultural Labour Scheme (MFAL) Early Seventies
Food for Work Programme (FWP) 1977
National Rural Employment Programme (NREP) 1980
Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP)1983
Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS)1993
Jawahar Rojgar Yojna (JRY)1993-94
Jawahar Gram Samriddi Yojna (JGSY)1999-2000
Sampoorn Grameen Rojgar Yojna (SGRY) 2001-02
National Food for Work (NFFWP)2005
 NREGA
The right to work as a fundamental right

The right to life is a fundamental right of all citizens

under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Right to life . Includes the right to live with human

dignity, it would include all these aspects which would
make life meaningful, complete and living (Supreme
Court)
 The right to work in the Directive Principles of the
Constitution

The sate shall . direct its policy towards

securing that the citizen, men and women
equally, have the right to an adequate means of
livelihood .(Article 39A)

The State shall make effective provision for

securing the right to work (Article 41)
 Mandate of MGNREGA

The mandate of the Act is to provide at least 100

days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year to every rural household whose
adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual
work.
 Goals of MGNREGS
i)Social protection
ii) Livelihood security through creation of durable assets
iii) Drought-proofing and flood management
iv) Empowerment of the socially disadvantaged, through the
processes of a rights-based legislation
v) Strengthening decentralised, participatory planning through
convergence of various anti-poverty and livelihoods initiatives
vi) Deepening democracy at the grass-roots by strengthening
Panchayati Raj Institutions
vii) Effecting greater transparency and accountability in
governance
NREGA COVERAGE
Phase I NREGA(200)
(commenced 2.02.06)
(Backward Districts
Ranked on basis of agricultural
wages, output per agricultural
worker and SC/ST
population of the district)

Phase II NREGA(130)
(extended on 1.4.07)

Phase III NREGA(266)

(notified on 28.9.07)
 Salient Features of NREGA

- Livelihood security
- Rights Based Programme
- Demand Driven
- Entry open / universal
- Participatory Planning and Implementation
- (good) governance
- Gender Sensitivity
NREGA : Basic Entitlements
- 100 days of guaranteed employment
- Employment within 15 days of application
- Unemployment allowance
- Work within 5 Kms
- Minimum wages
- Payment within 15 days
- Basic worksite facilities
- Medical Aid
 STAKEHOLDERS
I. Wage seekers
II. Gram Sabha
III. PRIs, specially the gram panchayat
IV. Programme Officer at the block level
V. District Programme Coordinator
VI. State Government
VII. Ministry of Rural Development
VIII. Civil Society
IX. Other stakeholders [viz. line departments, convergence
departments, Self-Help Groups
 Non- negotiable

Usage of unskilled manual labour

60:40( wages and material ratio)
Permissible works
50% work execution by GP
No Machinery
No Contractors
 Key Processes
Application for job card Selection of works
Verification Approval of shelf of
Issue of job card projects

Informing village PRI

Demand for employment
Acknowledgement of Preparation of estimates
demand And approvals

Work allocation

Maintenance of muster roll

Payment of wages
 Steps in NREGA
Registering the households for job card
To take the job cards
Application for work
Knowing work arrangements
Participating in the work plan
Participating in the Gram Sabhas
Participation in the work
Receiving wages
Participating in the social audit
 Implementing Structure for NREGA
MORD Policy Making

Advisory,
Monitoring & NEGC
Evaluation

State

SEGC
Planning, Supervising
monitoring

DPC District
Panchayat

Intermediate
PO Panchayat
Implementing

GP
 Fund for NREGA

Central fund-100%wages of unskilled manual

work,75% of material cost and wages of skilled and
semi- skilled workers, administrative cost
State fund- 25% of material cost, unemployment
allowance, Administrative expenses of SEGC
Incremental fund release on demand by States and
districts on 60% utilisation and
On the basis of performance report on physical and
financial parameters
 Important Components
Awareness Generation
Mobilization/ Participation
Capacity building
Planning- selection of works (IPPE, I&II, CFTs, GIS
based planning)
MIS
Labour budgets (planning based funding)
Work Execution
Payment of Wages
 Records to be maintained
Monitoring and Evaluation (MIS &GIS based, Quality
monitoring by NLMs &SLMs, Evaluation studies by
Economic and monitoring wing of MoRD)
RTI
VMCs and Social Audit
Grievance redressal
 IT interface to the programme

NIC developed generalised software being used by States with appropriate

modification.
Few other software like in Andhra Pradesh, west bengal
Problem areas are:
Connectivity
Last mile IT outreach at the cutting edge level of the village
Non familiarity of the beneficiary workforce with IT usages.
Interface of new software developed with NIC software
Committee set up to suggest hardware alternatives at the village level:
Handheld devices utility is being assessed.
 Achievement since inception

Since its inception in 2006, around 1,29,000 crores have

been disbursed directly as wage payments to rural
households.
1348 crores person-days of employment has been
generated.
On an average; five crores households have been
provided with employment every year since 2008.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have accounted
for 51% of the total person-days generated.
Women have accounted for 47% of the total person-days
generated. This is well above the mandatory 33% as
required by the Act.
 Since the beginning of the programme, 146 lakhs
works have been taken up under the
programme.
Average wage per person-day has gone up by
81% since the Scheme's inception, with State
level variation. The notified wage today varies
from a minimum of Rs. 122 in Bihar and
Jharkhand to Rs. 191 in Haryana.
 Problems manifested in the field

Delay and denial in issue of job cards

Low level of awareness regarding the entitlements
Low participation especially women participation
Non issue of dated receipts and thus capturing demand
Inadequate shelf of Projects
No maintenance of vital records
Delay in measurement and payment
MIS related problems
Social audits and VMCs for name sake
Gram Panchayats capacities to handle the proghramme
 Recent initiatives
a. Ensuring Durable & Quality Assets
Strengthen the synergy between MGNREGA and rural livelihoods,
particularly agriculture, and create durable quality assets
location-specific flexibility in permissible works
Help improve the health and ecological situation in rural India, with
particular focus on sanitation.
b. Measures to ensure Transparency & Accountability
Appointment of Ombudsman at district level
Social Audits: Social Audit Unit shall facilitate conduct of Social
Audit of the works taken up under the Act in every GP at least
once every six months in the manner prescribed under the rules.
c. Grievance Redressal: Standard Operating Procedures formulated
d. CAG Audit: Performance audit of MGNREGA by the Comptroller
and Auditor General (CAG), is also in progress
e. Effective monitoring of MGNREGA
1.The Ministry is also in the process of setting up a concurrent evaluation
office (CEO)
2.The Vigilance & Monitoring Committees (V&MCs) at State as well as
District level to effectively monitor the implementation
f. The Ministry has strongly supported the use of ICT to improve
programme efficiency
1.e-FMS: An electronic Fund Management System (e-FMS) has been
implemented to reduce delay in payment of wages
2.e-MMS Electronic Muster Management System (eMMS) system has been
introduced using mobile based application to capture worksite attendance.
3.EFRS for fund release
g. Additional works to enhance the livelihood opportunities
Thank You
 PERMISSIBLE WORKS
The Works permissible under NREGA are :
Category A: Public works
(i) Water conservation and water harvesting structures to augment and
improve groundwaterlike underground dykes, earthen dams, stop dams,
with special focus on recharging ground water near drinking water
sources;
(ii) Natural Resource Management works such as contour trenches,
contour bunds, boulder checks, gabion structures and springshed
developmentas a part of a comprehensive project for treatment of a
watershed;
(iii) Creation and maintenance of irrigation canals including micro and minor
irrigation works;
(iv) Renovation of traditional water bodies including desilting of irrigation
tanks and other water bodies;
(v) Afforestation, tree plantation and horticulture in common and forest
lands, road margins, canal bunds, tank foreshores and coastal belts duly
providing usufruct (tree pattas) to the households in Paragraph 5.
(vi) Land development works in common land.
 Category B: Individual assets for vulnerable sections (only for
households in Paragraph 5)
(vii) Improving productivity of lands of households specified in
Paragraph 5 by providing suitable infrastructure for irrigation
including dug wells,farm ponds, horticulture, sericulture,
plantation, and land development;
(viii) Development of fallow/waste land of households defined
in Paragraph 5to bring it under cultivation;
(ix) Weaker Sectionhousing for rural householdsin paragraph 5
living in a kutcha house and not having any other pucca
structure, in convergence with other schemes such as Indira
AwaasYojana or such other State or Central Government
schemes.
Category C: Livelihood activities formulated by Self Help Groups under National
Rural Livelihood Mission
(x) Works for promoting agricultural productivity by creating durable
infrastructure required for bio-fertilizers and post-harvest facilities
including pucca storage facilities for agricultural produce;
(xi) Creating infrastructure for promotion of livestock such as, poultry
shelter, goat shelter, cattle shelter and fodder troughs for cattle;
(xii) Creating infrastructure for promotion of fisheries such as, fish drying
yards, storage facilities, and promotion of fisheries in seasonal water
bodies on public land;

back
Category D: Rural infrastructure:
(xiii) Rural sanitation related works, such as, individual household latrines,
school toilet units, Anganwadi toilets, solid and liquid waste management to
achieve open defecation free status and in convergence with schemes of other
government departments;
(xiv) Providing all-weather rural road connectivity to unconnected villages and to
connect identified rural production centres to the existing pucca road
network; and construction of pucca internal roads including culverts within a
village;
(xv) Construction of play fields;
(xvi) Works for improving disaster preparednessor restoration of roads or
restoration of other essential public infrastructure including flood control and
protection works, providing drainage in water logged areas, deepening and
repairing of flood channels, chaur renovation, construction of storm water
drains for coastal protection;
 xvii) Construction of pucca buildingsfor Gram Panchayats, women
self-help groups, cyclone shelters, Anganwadicentres at the village or
block level using building material produced locally as far as possible
and in convergence with Central/State Government schemes;
(xviii) Construction of Food Grain Storage Structurefor implementing the
provisions of The National Food Security Act 2013;
(xix) Maintenance of public assets created under the Act or any asset
specified by the Central Government in the manner prescribed;
(xx) Any other work which may be notified by the Central Government
in consultation with the State Government.
TIMELINES FOR VARIOUS STEPS INVOLVED IN PREPARATION AND FINALIZATION OF LB

15th August Gram Sabha to approve GP Annual Plan and submit to PO

15th September PO submits consolidated GP Plans to Block Panchayat

2nd October Block Panchayat to approve the Block Annual Plan and submit to DPC

15th November DPC to present District Annual Plan and LB to District Panchayat
1st December District Panchayat to approve District Annual Plan
15th December DPC to ensure that shelf of projects for each GP is ready
31st December Labour Budget is submitted to Central Govt.
January Ministry scrutinizes the Labour Budget and requests for compliance for deficiencies,
if any

February Meetings of Empowered Committee are held and LB finalized

February, March Agreed to LB communicated to States. States to feed data of Month wise and
District wise breakup of Agreed to LB in MIS and communicate the same to
Districts/ blocks / GPs

Before 7th April States to communicate OB, Center to release upfront / 1st Tranche.

back
 Records and registers at GP
Registration register
Job card registers
Employment register
Assets register
Grievance register
Muster roll receipts register
Muster roll copies
Material procurement register
Stock register
Cash book and ledger
Material bills/ voucher
Measurement book
Monitoring register
Back
 RTI: Information
Records
Documents
Memos, e-mails, opinions
Advises, press releases
Circulars, orders
Log-books
Contracts
Reports, papers
Samples, models
Data held in electronic form
back
 VIGILANCE AND MONITORING
COMMITTEES
composed of members of the locality or village
comprise nine members
Gram Sabha will elect the members
ensure that SC/STs and women representation
50% of members from among NREGA
Workers
For one year
facilitate the social audit by the Gram Sabha
social audit
- Registration of families
- Distribution of Job Cards
- Receipt of work applications
- Preparation of shelf of projects and selection of
sites
- Development and approval of technical estimates
and issuance of work order
- Allotment of work to individuals
- Implementation and supervision of works
- Payment of unemployment allowance
- Payment of wages
- Evaluation of work
- Mandatory social audit in the Gram Sabha
Back