PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BONUS

UNDER MATERNITY BENEFIT

ACT

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Project of Labour Law-II

Submitted to : Dr. S.C. ROY
Faculty of Labour Law
Submitted by : Ankit Anand
Roll no: 917
5th semester

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The present project on the PAYMENT OF MEDICAL BONUS UNDER THE
MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT has been able to get its final shape with the support and help
of people from various quarters. My sincere thanks go to all the members without whom the
study could not have come to its present state. I am proud to acknowledge gratitude to the
individuals during my study and without whom the study may not be completed. I have taken
this opportunity to thank those who genuinely helped me.

With immense pleasure, I express my deepest sense of gratitude to Dr. Subhash

Chandra Roy, Faculty for labor law II, Chanakya National Law University for helping me

in my project. I am also thankful to the whole Chanakya National Law University family that
provided me all the material I required for the project. Not to forget thanking to my parents
without the co-operation of whom completion of this project would not had been possible.

I have made every effort to acknowledge credits, but I apologies in advance for any omission
that may have inadvertently taken place.

Last but not least I would like to thank Almighty whose blessing helped me to complete the
project.

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Table Of Contents
Topic

Page no

Introduction

4-5

Historical background

6-9

Payment of medical bonus

10-13

Others features of the act

14-16

Conclusion

17-19

Bibliography and references

20

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OBJECT OF STUDY:
It thereby tries to ensure that the activity or project is designed and implemented in a manner
that is most suited for the prevailing (local) conditions, appropriately reflects the priorities
and preferences of those affected by it, and most effectively serves public interest. Thus it is
important to know various aspects and different nuances of the very topic.

HYPOTHESIS:
A social audit is an ongoing process by which the potential beneficiaries and other
stakeholders of an activity or project are involved from the planning to the monitoring and
evaluation of that activity or project.

RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY:
The research methodology used here in the research work would be the doctrinal research
methodology and the entire content would be based on the specific materials collected
through different books and journals.

Chapter 1 > introduction

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Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a Central

sponsored wage employment scheme, aims at providing livelihood security to the rural poor.
The MGNREGA was implemented in 200 districts, in the first phase, with effect from
February 2, 2006 and extended, subsequently, to additional 113 and 17 districts with effect
from April 1st 2007 and May 15th 2007, respectively. The remaining districts were included
under the Act with effect from April 1, 2008. The objective of MGNREGA is to ensure
livelihood security of rural people by guaranteeing at least 100 days of wage employment in a
financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual
work.1 The Act envisages the following:
Enhance livelihood security of the rural poor by generating wage employment
opportunities in works that develop the infrastructure base of that particular locality.
Rejuvenate natural resource base of the area concerned.
Create a productive rural asset base
Stimulate local economy for providing wage employment.
Ensure women empowerment
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 (or, NREGA No 42) was later renamed
as the "Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act" (or, MGNREGA), is an
Indian labour law and social security measure that aims to guarantee the 'right to work'. It
aims to ensure livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of wage
employment in a financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do
unskilled manual work. Starting from 200 districts on 2 February 2006, the NREGA covered
all the districts of India from 1 April 2008. The statute is hailed by the government as "the
largest and most ambitious social security and public works programme in the world". In its
World Development Report 2014, the World Bank termed it a "stellar example of rural
development. The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of "enhancing livelihood
security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a
financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual
work". Another aim of MGNREGA is to create durable assets (such as roads, canals, ponds,
wells).2 Employment is to be provided within 5 km of an applicant's residence, and minimum
wages are to be paid. If work is not provided within 15 days of applying, applicants are
entitled to an unemployment allowance. Thus, employment under MGNREGA is a legal
1 http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/print.php?art_id=725
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entitlement. MGNREGA is to be implemented mainly by gram panchayats (GPs). The

involvement of contractors is banned. Labour-intensive tasks like creating infrastructure for
water harvesting, drought relief and flood control are preferred.Apart from providing
economic security and creating rural assets, NREGA can help in protecting the environment,
empowering rural women, reducing rural-urban migration and fostering social equity, among
others." The law provides many safeguards to promote its effective management and
implementation. The act explicitly mentions the principles and agencies for implementation,
list of allowed works, financing pattern, monitoring and evaluation, and most importantly the
detailed measures to ensure transparency and accountability. According to a recent Indian
Government committee constituted to estimate poverty, nearly 38% of Indias population is
poor. More than 75% of poor people reside in villages. Rural poverty is largely a result of low
productivity and unemployment. In order to alleviate rural poverty by generating employment
and creation of sustainable assets in Rural India, Government of India brought in the flagship
programme called Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA), 2005. However, Social security programmes are not free from flaws. So is the
case with MGNREGA. This article highlights the issues and challenges being faced by
Government while implementing the worlds largest employment generating programme and
the issues among the people covered under the scheme. The National Rural Employment
guarantee Act, 2005 (No.42 of 2005) having received the assent of the President on 5th
September 2005 was published in the Gazette of India on 7th September 2005 and was
renamed as MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Act) on 2
October 2009.(1) MGNREGA is the largest employment providing scheme in the world.
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES:
MGNREGA is perhaps the most ambitious anti-poverty scheme launched anywhere in the
world. However, the scheme has shown several anomalies when it comes to implementation
in the right manner. An analysis of the issues and challenges of MGNREGA is presented in
this article.3 It may be understood the problems and challenges are from both, Government
and public.
2 Definition, http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/introduction-to-trade-unions, last
accessed on 20-04-2015, at 09:18 IST
3 http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/dialogue/ifpdial/llg/noframes/ch4.htm
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Chapter 2 > historical background

Using public employment as a social security measure and for poverty alleviation measure in rural
areas has a long history in India. After three decades of experimentation, the government launched
major schemes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana, Employment Assurance Scheme, Food for Work
Programme, Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana and Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana that were
forerunners to Mahatma Gandhi NREGA. Unlike its precursors, the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
guaranteed employment as a legal right. Maharashtra was the first state to enact an employment
guarantee act in the 1970s. Former MaharashtraChief Minister late Vasantrao Naik, launched the
revolutionary Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which proved to be a boon for millions of
farmers ravaged by two ferocious famines. The Planning Commission later approved the scheme and
the same was adopted on national scale.4 The relief measures undertaken by the Government of
Maharashtra included employment, programmes aimed at creating productive assets such as tree
plantation, conservation of soil, excavation of canals, and building artificial lentic water bodies.
Starting from 1960, the first 30 years of experimentation with employment schemes in rural areas
taught few important lessons to the government like the Rural Manpower Programme taught the
lesson of financial management, the Crash Scheme for Rural Employment of planning for
outcomes, a Pilot Intensive Rural Employment Programme of labour-intensive works, the Drought
Prone Area Programme of integrated rural development, Marginal Farmers and Agricultural
Labourers Scheme of rural economic development, the Food for Work Programme (FWP) of
holistic development and better coordination with the states, the National Rural Employment
Programme (NREP) of community development, and the Rural Landless Employment Guarantee
Programme of focus on landless households. the government had been merging old schemes to
introduce new ones while retaining the basic objective of providing additional wage employment
involving unskilled manual work, creating durable assets, and improving food security in rural areas
through public works with special safeguards for the weaker sectionsand women of the community.

In later years, major employment schemes like Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) in 1977, National Rural
Employment Programme (NREP) in 1980, Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS), Food for Work
Programme (NFFWP) in 2004, Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) and Sampoorna Grameen
4 Freedom of association, http://www.solidaritylegalservices.co.za/faqs/freedomof-association/, last accessed on 20-04-2015, at 09:36 IST
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Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) were launched. Some of them (e.g. NFFWP) provided foodgrains to
complement wages. On 1 April 1989, to converge employment generation, infrastructure
development and food security in rural areas, the government integrated NREP and RLEGP into a
new scheme JRY. The most significant change was the decentralization of implementation by
involving local people through PRIs and hence a decreasing role of bureaucracy.5 On 2 October 1993,
the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) was initiated to provide employment during the lean
agricultural season. The role of PRIs was reinforced with the local self-government at the district
level called the Zilla Parishad as the main implementing authority. Later, EAS was merged with

5http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Arbitration-as-a-method-of-Industrial-Dispute-

Resolution-5769.asp#.VTOb-vmUcXM

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SGRY in 2001. On 1 April 1999, the JRY was revamped and renamed to JGSY with a similar
objective. The role of PRIs was further reinforced with the local self-government at the village level
called the Village Panchayats as the sole implementing authority. In 2001, it was merged with
SGRY. In January 2001, the government introduced FWP similar to the one initiated in 1977. Once
NREGA was enacted, the two were merged in 2006. On 25 September 2001 to converge employment
generation, infrastructure development and food security in rural areas, the government integrated
EAS and JGSY into a new scheme SGRY. The role of PRIs was retained with the Village

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Panchayats as the sole implementing authority. Yet again due to implementation issues, it was
merged with Mahatma Gandhi NREGA in 2006.
Objectives of the Act
(A) provide, on demand, not less than one hundred days of unskilled manual work in a financial year
to every household in rural areas;
(B) create productive assets of prescribed quality and durability through wage employment;

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(C) strengthen the livelihood resource base of the rural poor;

(D) proactively ensure social inclusion; and
(E) strengthen Panchayat Raj Institutions.
Salient Features of the Act:
i. Registration

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(a) The adult member of every household residing in any rural area and willing to do unskilled
manual work may submit the names, age and the address of the household to the Gram Panchayat at
the village level, in whose jurisdiction they reside, for registration of their household to the local
Gram Panchayat.
(b) The unit for registration is a household.
(c) Under the Act, each household is entitled to a 100 days of employment every year.

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ii. Job Card

(a) After due verification of place of residence and age of the member/s (only adult members are
eligible for employment), the registered household is issued a Job Card.
(b) A Job Card is to be issued within 15 days of registration. Job Card forms the basis of
identification for demanding employment.
(c) The job card issued shall be valid for atleast five years after which, it may be renewed after due

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verification.
iii. Application for Work
(a) Application for work can be oral or written and made to the Ward member or to the Gram
Panchayat or to the Programme Officer or any person authorised by the State Government or through
a telephone or mobile or Interactive Voice Response System or through a call centre or through web
site or through a kiosk set up for this purpose or through any other means authorised by the State

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Government.
(b) The Gram Panchayat / Programme Officer or authorised person will issue a dated receipt of the
written application for employment, against which the guarantee of providing employment within 15
days operates.Mahatma Gandhi NREGA - Report to the People
iv. Unemployment Allowance
(a) In case employment is not provided within fifteen days from the date of registration of the

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demand for work or the date from which work has been demanded in case of advance applications,
whichever is later, he/she shall be entitled to a daily unemployment allowance.
(b) Unemployment allowance shall be paid, as calculated automatically by the computer system or
the Management Information System and as provided under the Act.
v. Provision and Execution of Work
(a) Work is provided within 5 kilometers (kms) radius of the village.

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(b) In case, work is provided beyond 5 kms, extra wages of 10 per cent are payable to meet additional
transportation and living expenses.
(c) Priority is given to women, such that at least one-third of the beneficiaries under the Scheme are
women. Efforts should be made to increase participation of the single and the disabled women.
(d) At least 50 per cent of works, in terms of cost, are to be executed by the Gram Panchayats. (e) For
all works taken up by the Gram Panchayats, the cost of the material component including the wages

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of the skilled and semi-skilled workers shall not exceed forty per cent at the Gram Panchayat level.
For works taken up by the implementing agencies other than Gram Panchayats, the overall material
component including the wages of the skilled and semi-skilled workers shall not exceed forty per cent
at the Block or intermediate level.
(f) Contractors and use of labour displacing machinery are prohibited.
(g) Work site facilities such as safe drinking water, shade for children and periods of rest and first aid
box with adequate material for emergency treatment for minor injuries and other health hazards have

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to be provided.

faced by the government and people

GOVERNMENT
POOR PLANNING & ADMINISTRATIVE SKILL

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The representatives of the Central and State governments, as well as NGOs, reviewed the
MGNREGA in the month of April, 2011. What emerged was the comment that the annual budget of
Rs.40, 000 crore could be better utilized with more effective planning. Thus far, the panchayats,
barring those in Karnataka and, to some extent, in those in West Bengal, have no experience at all in
planning large-scale programmes. Even the report by the Comptroller and
Auditor General (CAG) has highlighted the lack of administrative capacity of the village panchayat
members to run this scheme in a designed and decentralised manner.
LACK OF FOCUS ON OBJECTIVES

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Though Schedule One of the MGNREG Act referred to conservation of natural resources such as
rainwater, land, forests, this was not reflected in the works floated for the scheme.3 under this
scheme, contractors and machineries should not be used. But in some work places, contractors were
allowed and machineries were involved. And the erring officials claim that the works were done as if
they were completed by workers and not by machines
LACK OF ADEQUATE MANPOWER
Another issue is the deficiency of adequate administrative and technical manpower at the Block and
Grama Panchayat (GP) Levels, especially at the level of programme officer, technical assistants, and
Employment Guarantee Assistant Level etc. The lack of manpower has adversely affected the
preparation of plans, scrutiny, approval, monitoring and measurement of works, and maintenance of

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the stipulated records at the block and GP level. The CAG report points out that besides affecting the
implementation of the scheme and the provision of employment, this also impacted adversely on
transparency. (6)

DIFFICULTY IN FUNDING THE SCHEME

Being one of the largest initiatives of its kind in the world, MGNREGA was started with an initial
outlay of Rs.11, 300 crore in the year 2006-07 (almost 0.3% of GDP) and now fully operational, the
annual budget for 2010-2011 is about Rs.40, 000 crore.7
DISCRIMINATION MGNREGA
It has provided a unique opportunity to people from rural India to earn their own income without any
discrimination of caste or gender. The most remarkable feature of MGNREGA is that it pays women

6 http:/www.nrega.nic.in/netnrega/home.aspx

7 Disa Sjoblom and John Farrington (2008) Indian National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act: Will it reduce poverty and boost economy? Oversees

development institute

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the same as men, something that was virtually unimaginable in Rural India. However, cases of
discrimination against women and people from backward groups are reported from several regions of
the country.8 Some states such as Kerala and Andhra Pradesh have registered high percentage of
women workers getting enrolled in the scheme whereas others have registered a very low percentage
of women availing benefit under MGNREGA. It has been reported that in some regions only a few
job cards are issued when the applicants are women, or there are delays in the issue of cards. Women
are sometimes told that manual labour under the MGNREGS is not meant for women and they could
not participate in ongoing works as it entailed digging and removing soil. In some states, the powerful
groups among the work force get large number of job cards.
CORRUPTION & IRREGULARITIES
Statistics clearly indicate that the poverty alleviation programmes have had a minimal effect on
poverty levels in India due to corruption. The actual funds that reach the beneficiaries are very little
compared to the funds allocated for welfare schemes. Former Prime Minister, Rajive Gandhi had
once said that out of every 100 paisa allocated for public welfare only 14 paisa reaches the targeted
people.9 Further concerns, include the fact that corruption of the local governments leads to the
exclusion of specific sections of the society. Local governments have also been found to claim that
more people have received job cards than people who actually work in order to generate more fund
than needed, to be then embezzled by local officials. Bribes as high Rs.50 are paid in order to receive
the job card.10 A multi-crore fraud has also been suspected where people have been issued under the

8 http:/www.policyproposalfor india.com/article.php?articleid=169&languageid=1

9 http://www.window2india.com (governments poverty alleviation programs: are they

effective?)

10 http:/www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=440 title = Indian national

rural Employment guarantee act will- reduce poverty boost economy

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MGNREGS card who is either employed with another Government job and who are not even aware
that they have a job card. There are several cases of fake muster roll entries, over writing, false names
and irregularities in job cards. Even the names of dead people who have not registered often feature
in the muster rolls
MAOIST INSURGENCY
Less than 9% of households in the 60 districts most affected by Maoist militancy found the required
100 days of employment under the countrys rural jobs programme in the year ended 31 March. The
National average of households that have completed 100 days under the job guarantee plan last fiscal
was also poor at 10.1% compared with 8.8% in the districts hit by the Maoist insurgency. The
percentage of women employed under the programme in the insurgency hit districts in the same
period was 44% compared with the national average of 48%. 11 The poor performance of the scheme
in these areas has prompted the Rural Development Ministry to boost the implementation of social
and economic development programmes in the 60 Integrated Action Plan (IAP) districts in nine
states, including Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and West Bengal.
LACK OF SAFETY MEASURES
Around one-third of the stipulated work force under MGNREGS is women. Therefore, Crches have
to be set up so as to enable women carrying their children to the work site to do their work without
much apprehension about their children.12 It is seen at the work place that women workers lay their
children in cradles tied around tree branches. In the absence of this facility women may hesitate to
come forward to demand for work. One of the objectives of the Scheme to strengthen women
empowerment may go unrealized. Secondly, there must be a first-aid box available at the work site to
provide medical assistance to the needy workers at the work sit if they get injured while at work.
Importantly, life saving medicines must be kept at the work site because workers may get bitten by
poisonous reptilians while clearing bushes.

PEOPLE
INADEQUATE AWARENESS MGNREGA
provides the rural poor a right to demand for work for 100 days in a financial year. But peoples
efforts to get jobs under this scheme have been stymied by the fact that Governments have done
11 htpp://www.livemint.com/2011/09/21191111/less-than-9-households-

could.htm/

12 NREGA 2005, Schedule II,Sec-(28)

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nothing to encourage people to register demands.

The fact is that the national average for workdays generated under the scheme is less than half of the
entitlement of 100 days per household, per year. Even in 2009-2010, a severe drought year, only 54
days of work per household were generated. In 2010-2011, this number decreased to 46.79 days.10
Due to lack of awareness about the provisions of the Act, People are unaware of their basic
entitlements under MGNREGA such as Job Cards, Minimum Wage Amount, Unemployment
Allowance. The receipt for the application which is the basic record for claiming unemployment
allowance. There is a widespread ignorance about how to avail the unemployment allowance; some
times even the officials deliberately do not give out this information as they fear punishment for not
providing jobs and poor awareness not only leads to corruption but also to poor management of the
scheme and thus true potential of the MGNREGA is not being realized.(13)The Government must
carry out an intensive training and awareness building programme to make the officials and citizens
fully aware of all the details of the programme. People at the grass roots level must be made aware of
RTI Act and encouraged to use it.
NON-PURPOSIVE SPENDING MGNREGA
It has obviously, increased the earning capacity of the rural people. But the spending pattern of the
workers assumes significance because there is hardly any saving out of the wage earned from
MGNREGS. For example, payment to the workers under MGNREGA is made in cash in Tamilnadu
state instead of through banks or post office accounts.14. Raw cash in the hands leads to nonpurposive spending. Lack of awareness on the impact of inflation and illiteracy level among the rural
poor are the reasons for not saving part of their income from this scheme. In some cases, Men
workers have the tendency of spending considerable portion of their earning from this scheme on
drugs and liquor related products. Therefore, the chance of creating financial inclusion is missing and
the idea of saving is wiped out of the minds of the rural poor
BEING UNORGANIZED
In spite of large number of provisions under MGNREGA being in favor of workers, they could not
enjoy their entitlements, such as getting work for the stipulated 100 days, unemployment allowances
and basic amenities at the work site, on account of being unorganized. It seems to be a setback for the
13 The Hindu dated November 11, 2011 cover page article titled another

excuse to cut Government spending

14 The New Indian Express dated 8th Dec, 2011- cover page titled Pay Wages

for Rural Job Scheme through Banks and POs accounts Ramesh page No.6

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workers under the Act. Facing dipping demand for works under the scheme, the Jharkand State
Government has decided to form unions of workers that will persuade people in villages to ask for
more work.15This will help in streamlining the village planning process as well. But, it is still unclear
under which laws, the proposed unions will function.

Chapter 4 > social audit and mnrega

Socially auditing the NREGA.
Participation in the supervision and measurement /evaluation of work.
Disbursement of full wages on time.
For each of these steps ( or entitlements), identifythe vulnerabilities and dangers.
For each of these vulnerabilities, determine and design the social auditing method most
appropriate and fix institutional responsibilities and time frames

Benefits of Social Audit: The Case of NREGA

Awareness Generation
Awareness generation through the Social Audit:
Information is shared about wage seekers, rights and entitlements under NREGA Muster
rolls/ financial documents/ Measurement Records are read out Auditors question the
implementing agency on different aspects of the works.16
The Social Audit reveals High level of awareness of the scheme but not of the entitlements
concept of a demand driven scheme yet to take root: No awareness of the concept of 100 days
entitlement or unemployment allowance and other aspects of NREGA No information wall/
15 http:/www.downtoearth.org.in
16 http://www.icaindia.co.in/icanet/quterli/jan-march2002/ICA3.htm
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transparency display board Awareness of NREGA increased by 62% post-Social Audit (Based
on a study in three NREGS Districts in AP)

Monitoring Implementation Processes

Monitoring NREGA through the Social Audit All records (muster rolls, measurement books,
financial records, passbooks) are cross verified with scheme participants Work-sites inspected
Field assistant/ implementing agency reports Social Audit and Improvements in payment
process.

Impact of Social Audit

Useful tool to identify the gaps and leakages in scheme implementation which often get left
out in the process monitoring and MIS systems Real time feedback mechanism creates the
space to address small issues that can potentially derail the process Identifies capacity gaps
that can be strengthened through training17
Empowerment : Reading out muster rolls and opportunity for persons affected by corruption
to testify in Gram Sabha.
Grievance Redressal through the Social Audit During the audit, Field Assistant and other
officials are called to give explanations for discrepancies found Wage seekers that have
suffered losses due to leakages testify Complaints are registered Job cards and passbooks are
distributed on the spot Work applications are filed.18

Corrective/ Follow-up Results

By February 2007, 50 field assistants and 6 computer assistants had been sacked, 3 MDOs
had been suspended and 6 inquiries initiated (in Andhra Pradesh) Over Rs.5 lakh have been
recovered from 12 Mandals in the last one year In May 2007, Sarpanches returned Rs.96,000
that had been collected through petty corruption The post-office officials returned the
embezzled money (Pakul, Jharkhand)

17 Election , http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/forum/Trade-Union-Election15860.asp#.VTm9p5NBLOA, last accessed on 20-04-2015, at 09:30 IST

18 http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/dialogue/ifpdial/llg/noframes/ch4.htm
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Social Audit at Identification Stage in NREGA

For the NREGA, which provides employment as a right, the identification of stages can be
best done in terms of the entitlements provided under the act.
These are:
1. The entitlement to register ones family.
2. The entitlement to a job card.
3. The entitlement to apply for work.
4. The entitlement to participate in the process of preparation of shelf of
projects/ selection of sites.
5. The entitlement to participate in the development and approval of technical
estimates/issuance of work order.
6. The entitlement to get work allotted within fifteen days of applying for it.
7. The entitlement to participate in the supervision of works.
8. The entitlement to receive full wages for the work done, as per the
prescribed rates.
9. The entitlement to receive unemployment allowance, if work is not allotted
in the stipulated fifteen days.
10. The entitlement to be involved in the evaluation of the works undertaken
under this act.

Items to be Social Audited under NREGA

Under the Employment Guarantee Act the following aspects should be audited:
i) Applications for Job Cards: The village social auditors must examine if all the wage seekers
applied for job cards or not
ii) Getting the Job Cards: Whether all those who applied for job cards received them or not
iii) Process Involved in the Identification of Works: Whether the works were identified and
approved through the Gram Sabha
iv) Applying for Work: Whether wage seekers had applied for work, whether receipts had
been issued and whether all the applicants had obtained employment or not
v) Work Commencement Order: Whether the works executed were in the order of priority
and had Administrative Sanction. Whether works had been executed after the issuing of the
Work Commencement Order
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vi) Muster Roll: Whether the names of the wage seekers have been entered in the muster
rolls. Whether the names entered in the muster rolls were of the wage seekers who worked, as
opposed to those who did not work. Whether the muster rolls were read out publicly twice
everyday for attendance and the day of closure. Whether the signatures/ thumb impressions of
the labourers were taken on the muster rolls
vii) Mark up and Measurement of Works: Whether the wage seekers were shown where they
should work, how much work has to be done (individually or in a group) and informed about
the other measurement related details
viii) Measurement Books: Whether the details regarding measurements have been entered in
the measurement sheets or not. Whether the measurements have been recorded accurately or
not. And whether or not the details mentioned in the measurement sheets are in accordance
with the SSR. Also, whether the work done and the measurement at the site matches those
entered in the measurement book
ix) Work-Site Facilities: Whether facilities such as shade, water, crche and First Aid were
made available for the wage seekers
x) Wage Payments: Whether the wage seekers received wages in accordance to the work done
by them and the entry made in the muster rolls or not
xi) Quality of Work: Assessment of the quality of work and the materials
xii) Examination of the Works: Whether the identified work was completed
xiii) Payments through Banks/ Post Office: See whether wages were paid according to the
work done and through the banks or post offices (Courtesy : Rural Development Department,
Govt. of Adhra Pradesh)

Chapter 5 > conclusion

Large scale social security programmes like MGNREA are subjected to undergo several
stumbling blocks. Government and NGOs must study the impact of MGNREGA in rural
areas so as to ensure that this massive anti-poverty scheme is not getting diluted from its
actual path and to see that the disparity in terms of socio-economic condition among people
in rural and urban areas is reduced to considerable extend. During the rally the volunteers
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directly interacted with more than 3000 people (mostly poor workers) spread across 70
villages of Bhawanipatna block and found that the rural poor do not know much about and
not familiar with the basic entitlements of NREGA. The concept of demand-driven
employment, payment rates, minimum wage, work norms, work-site facilities, transparence
and other provisions of the Act are yet to reach the countryside. Barring Panchayat Secretary
of Artal Panchayat (Ajrei village) no officials have tried to make the people aware of the
different provisions of the Act. The PRI members including the Sarpanches have not taken
any concrete steps so far to make the people aware.
NREGA: A SUMMARY
The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 is a law whereby any adult who is
willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage is entitled to being employed on
public works within 15 days of applying. If work is not provided within 15 days, he/she is
entitled to an unemployment allowance.
The key features of the Act are spelt out below.
1. Eligibility: Any person who is above the age of 18 and resides in rural areas is entitled to
apply for work.
2. Entitlement: Any applicant is entitled to work within 15 days, for as many days as he/she
has applied, subject to a limit of 100 days per household per year in his normal area of
residence.
3. Distance: Work is to be provided within a radius of 5 kilometres of the applicants
residence if possible, and in any case within the block. If work is provided beyond 5
kilometres, 10 per cent extra wages have to be paid.
4. Wages: Workers are entitled to the statutory minimum wage applicable to agricultural
labourers in the state, unless and until the Central Government notifies a different wage
rate. If the Central Government notifies, the wage rate is subject to a minimum of Rs 60/day.
5. Timely payment: Workers are to be paid weekly, or in any case not later than a fortnight.
Payment of wages is to be made directly to the person concerned in the presence of
independent persons of the community on pre-announced dates.
6. Unemployment allowance: If work is not provided within 15 days, applicants are entitled
to an unemployment allowance: one-third of the wage rate for the first thirty days, and one
half thereafter.
7. Work-site facilities: Labourers are entitled to various facilities at the worksite such as clean
drinking water, shade for periods of rest, emergency health care, and child-minding.
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Employment Guarantee Scheme

1. Employment Guarantee Scheme: Each state government has to put in place an
Employment Guarantee Scheme within six months of the Act coming into force.
2. Permissible works: A list of permissible works is given in Schedule I of the Act. These are
concerned mainly with water conservation, minor irrigation, land development, rural roads,
etc. However, the Schedule also allows any other work which may be notified by the Central
Government in consultation with the State Government. All works under the programme
will be notified as NREGAS scheme.
3. Programme Officer: The Employment Guarantee Scheme is to be coordinated at the block
level by a Programme Officer. However, the Act allows some of his/her responsibilities to
be delegated to the Gram Panchayats.
4. Implementing agencies: EGS works are to be executed by implementing agencies. These
include, first and foremost, the Gram Panchayats (they are supposed to implement half of the
EGS works), but implementing agencies may also include other Panchayati Raj Institutions,
line departments such as the Public Works Department or Forest Department, and NGOs.
5. Contractors: Private contractors are banned.
6. Decentralised planning: A shelf of projects is to be maintained by the Programme Officer,
based on proposals from the implementing agencies. Each Gram Panchayat is also supposed
to prepare a shelf of works based on the recommendations of the Gram Sabha.
7. Transparency and accountability: The Act includes various provisions for transparency and
accountability, such as regular social audits by the Gram Sabhas, mandatory disclosure of
muster rolls, public accessibility of all EGS documents, regular maintenance of job cards, etc.

Bibliography

SECONDARY SOURCES
BOOKS
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 S.N.Mishra, Labour Law & Industrial Laws, 27th edition, Central Law Publication, 2014.
S.C.Srivastava, Industrial Relations and Labour Laws, 5th edition, Kay Kay Printers, 2007.
P.L.Malik, Handbook of Labour Law & Industrial Laws, 11th edition, Eastern Book Company,
2007.
Monal Arora, Industrial Relation, 1st edition, Excel Books Publications, 1999.
Dr. Marpreet Kaur, Dr. Avtar Singh Introduction to Labour Law & Industrial Laws, 2 nd
edition, Lexis Nexis Butterworths Wadhwa, 2008.

ONLINE SOURCES

http://www.icaindia.co.in/icanet/quterli/jan-march2002/ICA3.htm
http://www.ilo.org/legacy/english/dialogue/ifpdial/llg/noframes/ch4.htm
http://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/print.php?art_id=725
http://indiankanoon.org/doc/902131/
http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/human-resources-management/22871-

industrial-disputes-act-1947-a.html
http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Arbitration-as-a-method-of-IndustrialDispute-Resolution-5769.asp#.VTOb-vmUcXM

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