The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) which was enacted by legislation passed on August 25, 2005 is an Indian job guarantee scheme. It has now been renamed as Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) since October 2, 2009. It provides a legal guarantee of hundred days of work at Rs. 100 per day of work. Improvising the purchasing power of the people. It was started by the UPA government with the help of left parties. In 2006 it was started across 200 districts. By 2007, 330 districts were covered and all the 593 districts were covered by 2008.
In Orissa starting 19 districts then 5 and then remaining. 1. 2 Major Goals of NREGA: * Protective- To provide assured income. Promotive- Engine of growth of the rural economy. Preventive- To prevent the risk of forced migration. Major advantages:- * Complete abolition of the use of machines and contractors. * If government unable to provide work then they are entitled to a daily allowance. * One third workforce should be women. * Also facilities such as creche, shade and drinking water should be provided to the workers at the worksite. * Originally minimum wage was Rs. 0 which has now been increased to 100. * Another important advantage of this program is that as far as possible work should be provided within 5 kilometer radius of the village. * The silver lining is that the age old practice of extortion is finding it harder to survive. According to the government report around 100 % blocks have computer and 93% have broadband connectivity. Why Orissa was selected for this project? One reason was that as Orissa is the poorest state in India. Nearly 40% of the combines rural and urban population is below poverty line.
Even within Orissa the southern and western regions are more poverty stricken as compared to the coastal areas. In the KBK region nearly 72% are BPL. The HDI is as low as 0. 404. NREGA has an enormous importance for Orissa as it creates rights-based employment for the poor. It will also help in strengthening the natural resource base. Orissa also faces the problem of seasonal migration of unskilled workers and tribal people to outside the state. They and their families face a lot of problems due to this and NREGA will help in solving this problem.
NREGA or MGNREGA is perhaps one of the most progressive legislations, since independence. In Orissa where manual labor forms a major chunk of the population gainful employment is a prerequisite for the fulfillment of other basic rights – the right to life, the right to food, and the right to education. Nearly 96% of the working women in India are involved in unorganized sector with no social security. NREGA provided them with some kind of social security by the means fixed and equal wages and other wages. Orissa has nearly 40% women participation. Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan have high levels of women participation in NREGA as is evident from the data provided in the table below. NREGA has altogether diversified and increased the contributions that women make to the earnings of the household thus bringing a new social change.
“Also corruption is rampant with women at the losing side almost always. For example the entry of a work in the job card – without providing the due payment – is seen to be a widespread phenomenon in many places. If women demand their fair wages, they are threatened that they will not be called for work in future. NREGA has no separate provisions for the Scheduled castes, scheduled tribes or other backward classes. The Act is based on the basic tenets of equality that all will be provided equal work and wages irrespective of caste, gender etc. According to GOI 30% workforce is SCs and about 26% are STs. In Orissa SCs constitute 16. 5% of the population and around 24% have acted in NREGA. In this respect there are positive signs in the state of Orissa as the difference is very less as compared to other states and also the national level.
Though other states have failed to maintain a balance in this regard, Orissa has succeeded up to a certain extent. Thus the backward classes of Orissa have definitely benefitted from this scheme. * Faulty designs of the job cards Erratic Maintenance and Incomplete distribution of Job Cards are also major loopholes. * Also it has been found out that there is lack in transparency in muster rolls. * As people in authoritative positions can make adjustments in the muster rolls anytime they want. 3. 3 Suggestions: The job cards should be immediately replaced with new and developed ones. The new ones should be maintained properly and carefully. * There should be transparency in the maintenance of the muster rolls. * Records should be maintained in such a way that no one should be able to alter them. * Additional staff in large numbers should be deployed for the proper functioning. * There should be a clean and easy grievance redressal mechanism for the workers who have complaints. * The payment agencies should be separated from the implementing agencies.
