MGNREGA

PRESENTED BY,
LGA 03

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme

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2

Bottom-Up, People-Centred, Demand-Driven,

Rights Based
To enhance the livelihood security of the household in rural areas by providing at
least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment.
Providing employment on works that address causes of chronic poverty and arrest
the migration.

Enacted on August 25, 2005; came into force in 200 districts on February 2,
2006 and covered all district since 2008.
This is the largest ever public employment programme visualized in human
history
Job card is to apply and obtain from GP. It should be assigned within 15 days
and wages are to be disbursed within 1 week.

But, Do job card holders get employment? And how it has been misused by local
contractors and GP officials?

About MGNREGA
District came under MNREGA in April 2008 but villagers first learned of
MGNREGA in 2009.
Gram Panchayats office declared that the job Cards will be provided but no
further action was taken.
Small Contractors took advantage of the Situation.
Undertook some work under the scheme
Convinced Job card holders to give their signatures in order to secure
money
Used machines instead of manual labourers.
Gave 100Rs each to the Job Card holder and ended their involvement in
the scheme

Best Plan on Paper

Job card selection at will, without holders
knowledge
Well thought 3 tier structure:
District
Labor budget

Block
Consolidated
Block level
plan

GP
Office
Holds all the
job cards

Contract
or
Machines: Cheaper & faster wo
Bribe

GP
Profit share

Job Card
Within 15 days job

Job Seeker

Costs:
Central Govt: 100% for unskilled labor
50% of material cost
State Govt: unemployment allownace

Dummy labor
during
inspection
Job card
Holders

Awareness of MGNREGS
The major Stakeholders Rural poor unaware of nitty gritty of the scheme.
They had a card number registered in their names and feel that was enough to secure
money.
Loop holes in the scheme misused by a few clever villagers, contractors and GP secretary.
The whole system
is fooled
Card number
of a villager is registered
Work is taken up by machines and GP bribed
Incase of inspection job card holder pretends to be labourer
The profit is shared with job card holder as his signature a necessity
for payment

To prevent mal practices awareness campaigns to educate and mobilise the real stake
No frills
accounts
were opened for the rural poor so that total amount directly
holders
was
taken up.
reached the beneficiaries.

Ruminations
Reasons behind Reluctance in taking up MGNREGS jobs:

Timely payment non-existent locally.

Lack of full details and Inaccurate information by GP secretary.
Non payment of wages
Hard Labor
Unattractive Wages.
Colluding of elected GP members with contractors or secretary

PANCHAYAT CENTERED

Changes Needed:
GP secretary and Elected members Incentives for awareness, monitoring and
implementation.
Minimal power in hands of Beneficiaries- Co-operation between card holders and
contractors.
Maintenance funds: asset degradation due to lack of responsibility.
Convergence of MGNREGS with integrated livelihood and asset generation
programs.

Accountability Measures
Operating guidelines altered to improve efficiency
Wage delay a chronic issue
To redress grievances independent Ombudsman to each district
Job seeker doesnt have the time and resources to register a complaint
Each Gram Panchayats to have a Social Audit every six months
Villagers need to be Proactive to overcome drought situations
MGNREGS doesnt provide any funds for maintenance of assets created

THANK YOU