Around the time the Union government raised the workdays under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for tribals from 100 to 150, the State government went a step further and launched Kerala Tribal Plus to provide 200 workdays a year to tribals.
The project was borne out of the realisation that the participation of tribal communities in the MGNREGS was very low. Though a number of projects for their housing, education, healthcare, and basic amenities such as water and electrification were being launched, there had been no significant improvement in their condition as livelihood gaps remained.
There were little avenues for sustainable employment; the tribals were mostly dependant on agriculture or minor forest produce collection. As they were largely unskilled, the MGNREGS was seen as a good option to increase their livelihood security.
Drawbacks in MGNREGS
However, of the estimated 1.5 lakh tribal households in the State, few received the benefits of the scheme. One reason was that there were few enrolments. Even if they did enrol, many did not go to work for they received only 100 days of work a year. The uncertainty in getting wages in time also kept away many. Payments from the Union government did not reach their accounts in time; they got paid only three to four months later. To address these issues, the Scheduled Tribes Development Department launched Kerala Tribal Plus in the 2017-18 financial year. An amount of ₹12.4 crore was handed over to the Rural Development Department for this.
The increase in number of workdays from 100 to 200 helped give the tribal people a sense of job security. The demand for the MGNREGS too has increased, Josephine J., Planning Officer in the Scheduled Tribe Development Department, said.
Nearly 4,000 families have already received over 1,000 days of work — 3,288 households have been provided between 100 and 150 workdays, 20 have got 150, and 426 families have above 150 workdays as per figures in the last week of November.
Set to attain target
With three more months remaining before the end of the financial year, they are set to attain the target of 200 workdays, she says, adding that this is expected to motivate more families to enrol for the MGNREGS.
The department also found that in areas such as Wayanad and Attapady, there was good enrolment of tribespeople under the MGNREGS but many lived a hand-to-mouth existence. After discussion with the Local Self-Government Department, it was decided that their wages will be paid in time.
Pilot basis
On a pilot basis, a scheme was launched in Wayanad and Palakkad to pay their wages from the Scheduled Tribe Department funds every week, and recoup these once the funds from the Union government became available.
A revolving fund of ₹11.11 crore is being maintained in the two districts for this. “Maintaining such a corpus fund is a novel initiative to prevent delayed payment of wages. This too has led to more enrolments under the MGNREGS,” Ms. Josephine said. Kudumbashree has been appointed the nodal agency by the Local Self-government Department for the disbursal of the MGNREGS wages of ₹271 a day in association with the panchayats.
