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Speed up rural job scheme: Manmohan

Special Correspondent

National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme one of the finest measures for the poor, says CJI

Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has asked the States to put in place a mechanism to rigorously evaluate the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

He was speaking at a function on “Initiative on Supporting the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme through State Legal Services Authorities” here on Thursday.

“Some States have shown good results. Some are lagging behind. I urge the States that have been behind to make all effort to catch up with the more progressive ones,” he said.

Pointing out that faulty design of a programme could derail it, Dr. Singh said: Our mechanism for evaluating programmes needs considerable improvement.

“I have already given instructions for examination of the issue so that we can put in place an institutional mechanism for rigorous and independent evaluation of the flagship schemes,” he said, adding that the outcome of the evaluation should serve as feedback for improving programme design.

States’ involvement

Dr. Singh said the involvement of the local government was an important factor as the panchayat was the best institution to implement the Act. “We cannot depend entirely on the benevolence or commitment of a few good civil servants ... wherever local government institutions are active and committed, the delivery is better,” he said.

He suggested mobilisation of public opinion for better results, and said loopholes should be plugged to ensure that the programme benefited the poor.

The Prime Minister said that in States where panchayats were not active or not adequately empowered, the State governments must move forward and ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

Appreciating the efforts of the legal fraternity in making the rural poor aware of their rights under the programme, Dr. Singh said they needed to be educated that the programme was not supply driven but granted to them the right to employment.

“Spread awareness”

Chief Justice of India K. G. Balakrishnan described the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme as one of the finest social security measures for the poor and asked the legal fraternity to spread awareness about it.

“We have tried to fight poverty by various means, but have met with little success. So what India needs is something more lasting than patchwork policies to help its millions of poverty-stricken people. The NREG Act is one of the means which can solve the problem, given that it has the potential to provide livelihood to millions,” he said.

Speaking at a function on “Initiative on supporting the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme through the State Legal Services Authorities,” he said the scheme bridged the gap between the country’s rich and the poor.

He said the Act was one of the finest social welfare enactments, with the aim of improving the purchasing power of rural people, primarily semi or un-skilled people living below poverty in rural India.

He said the success of any scheme depends upon its implementation and awareness among the beneficiaries and it was here the State Legal Services Authorities (SLSAs) should step in to create awareness among the rural poor.

He said the legal services authorities are under an obligation to extend free legal aid under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 and called for nation-wide legal literacy and legal awareness campaign on NREGA to counter the problems of withholding payment, delayed payment, non-payment and any other issues between the rural worker and the implementing agency.

Union Law Minister H. R. Bhardwaj said that it was the duty of lawyers to spread legal awareness about the scheme among its prospective beneficiaries.

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