The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Rural job scheme: many positives, a few concerns

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Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Rural job scheme: many positives, a few concerns

Special Correspondent

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.”

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