* Preface:-
* NREGA 2005- signals a paradigm shift to legal entitlements, public accountability coupled with community rights, and responsive and participative management.
* Earlier wage employment programs had various problems:-
* Low coverage, <50% beneficiaries from most needs groups.
* Beneficiaries not from locals, actual wage < prescribed wages, gender bias, <30 days of work per year per worker, poor quality of assets, forged muster roll.
* Various schemes but poor impact on poverty, poor is caught in social captivity.
* Areas with extremism, or which are inaccessible - employment schemes are fully in the hands of contractors and middlemen.
* Empowerment of the poor through breaking the barriers of unemployment, illiteracy backwardness, ill health, debilitating (weakening) social inequality then form participation in gov = growth process and inclusive growth.
* NREGA promoting democracy through its accountability mechanism (social auditing) -which is demolishing the traditional hierarchy of power.
* Poor administration, public delivery systems affected the poor = corruption.
* Extremism Naxalism Areas with high concentration of poverty, poor governance systems, weak infrastructure, unequal power structure. Pachayat are non-existent, non functional, NREGA can promote democracy there.
* Institutional, administrative, financial management system of NREGA
* Contents:-
2. Review of public employment programs -Wage employment in the past Employee Guarantee Scheme Lessons.
3. NREGA- Implementation and Challenges Shift towards universalization funding execution centrality of local government Administration and institution arrangements.
4. Special challenges of backward areas.
5. Issues and Recoms
* Applicability to other programs
* Change towards universe entitlements
* Guaranteeing reach and outcomes
* Ensuring convergence
* Expanding the scheme
* Union funding and state execution
* Accountability mechanisms
* Fixing wages rates
* Financial Management System
* Preparing estimates for work
* Maintaining labour-material ratio
* Mechanisms for procurement
* Administration and institution arrangement
* Strengthening local government
* Selection and maintenance of works
* Block Resource Centre
* Entrepreneurship institutions for the Rural poor areas
* Monitoring Systems
* Curbing corruption and leakages
* Transparency and RTI
* Use of IT
* NREGA in 9th and 6th Schedule areas
* NREGA in areas affected by natural disasters
* Records
* Coordination mechanism
1. Introduction
* Shift in govts approach to development. Shit is towards universalization and entitlements. That means instead of just concentrating on the GDP growth to inc the living standards of citizens, now the approach is to recognize minimum levels of education, health, employment, nutrition as basic entitlement and static role in providing them to all.
* Emphasis on balanced regional development - problems in backward areas. Greater resources them.
* Fundamental change in funding and execution of government programs
* Increasingly key programs are being funded by the Union and executed by State this ensures no resources constraints and regular funds are available to Panchayat -> ensures peoples participation, initiative and supervision.
* Flagship programs SSA, NRHM, ICDS, NREGA, Bharat Nirman, Drinking water mission, total sanitation campaign these signal the shift towards universalization and entitlements.
* Challenges Maintaining regularity of fund flow and ensuring accountability.
* Common objective of flagship programs delivering entitlements universally. So need for their convergence at grass root level. Their planning systems should be integrated harmoniously for common implementation frame work for all schemes.
* Administration and institution (for financial management) arrangements for implementation and monitoring multi tier structures - Requires both vertical coordination of diff tiers and horizontal coordination across departments for execution through the local govt.
1. Review of Public Employment Programs
* Wage Employment programs in the past:
* Rural Manpower Program 1960-69 (RMP) employment to 2.5 m people in areas affected by seasonal employment.
* Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE) 1971-74 350 districts. Labour intensive works. Creation of durable Community assets.
* Drought Prone Areas Program (DPAP) 1971-73 to mitigate severity of drought condition.
* Areas Development Program (ADP) - do-
* Food for Work Program (FWP) 1977-80 creating employment to raise income levels and so nutritional levels. Strengthening rural infrastructure = high production and better living standard utilize surplus foodgrains of HRD
* National Rural Employment Program (NREP) 1980-89 generate additional employment (rest same as FWP)
* Rural landless Employment Guarantee Program (RLEGP) 1983-89 provide 100 days of employment to at least oen member of a landless household.
* Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY) 1989-99 almost same as FWP.
* Food for Work program II (FWP) 2000-02 food security through wage employment in drought affected rural areas.
* Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) 1993 99 100 days of employment to a person in 1752 backward blocks during lean agriculture period.
* Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana (JGSY) 1999-2001 creation of village infrastructure, generation of supplementary employment for unemployed poor (BPL) in rural area.
* Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) 2001 Provide wage/employment, food security, create durable assets . (This scheme was formed by merging Employment Assurance Scheme and Jawahar Gram Samridhi Yojana)
* Evaluation of these programs:-
1. Funds were not utilized in full, Reasons lack of planning; untimely release of funds, both from union govt to Dist. Rural Development Agencies (DRDA) , and from the DRDAs to blocks; inability of states to generate matching resources.
2. Low coverage of villages and target groups (non-poor beneficiaries)
3. Less labour intensive activities, more capital intensive activities. Normative capital labour ratio was not adhered to.
4. <30 days of wage employment in a year.
5. Bogus reporting on actual achievement
6. Poor quality of the assets created. Non durable.
7. Corruption at political and administration levels.
8. Manipulation of muster rolls and measurement books.
9. Very low participation of women.
10. Schemes explicitly forbade involvement of contractors and use of machinery.
* Employment Guarantee Schemes (EGS) - Early 1970, Maharastra. Unskilled manual work on piece rate basis - Self targeting EGS is still continuing > but little impact on reduction of poverty and unemployment, distress migration of workers continues, poor quality of assets created and their maintenance is not satisfactory, failure to adopt a local development policy to promote overall development.
* Reasons:
* Inadequate planning for assets, serious flaws in project selection. So hostile development plan is required which is integrated with the implementation of other development schemes.
* Lack of peoples participation in planning, implementation. Domination of bureaucracy resulted in technocratic and top-down approach.
* Limited role of Panchayat s in planning and implementation
* Lack of capability No training given to elected Panchayat Chiefs and others. Training of officials/representatives of Panchayats is the key to the success.
* Focus on physical work - It resembles the famine relief works of colonial period, our knowledge based rural economy was destroyed during the colonial period - Need to redefine employment programs to use knowledge and skills in the works will result in self-sufficient rural economy. Reduces rural-urban divide.
* Leakage: Fudging of muster rolls and measurement books. Contractors were involved.
1. NREGA Implementation Challenges
* Salient Features of the Act
* Paradigm Shift Employment is now a right which is enforceable Objectives are same as before, viz to provide livelihood security. Durable assets created through employments productive infrastructure for poverty alleviation on a sustained basis.
* Challenges: be arise because of 1. Shift towards universalization and entitlements, 2. Funding by the Union and Execution by State 3. Centrality of Local Govt. 4. Administrative and institutional arrangements 5. Problems in the backward areas.
* Shift towards universalization and entitlement:-
* Guaranteeing Reach - Legal guarantee of work, enforced within a specified timeframe. So creating work opportunity is a major challenge for the states. So there in need for in depth understanding of region specific demand and its seasonality to meet the demand the demand for work, otherwise unnecessary burden of compensation on states.
* Guaranteeing Outcome:- Creation of infrastructure which is sustainably generated employment for poverty alleviation and should be durable and productive. So proper planning is required for assets designing and construction. Monitoring mechanism should be created by strengthening institutional structure at local government level, for optimal use of resources.
* Ensuring Convergence:- Integration of implementation of flagship programs. Requires preparation of holistic integrated development plan at the local level and includes works to be identified, and undertaken systematically are part of long term strategy for rural development.
* Method of Expansion:- Already expanded.
* Gender balance :- in implementation.
* Union Funding and Execution by State Governments
* Fund Flows: depends on demand for work. A clear mechanism for flow needs to be evolved rather than through normal bureaucratic procedure.
* Accountability: makes it difficult for holding accountable because of duality of funding and executing agencies. So accountability mechanism should be clear.
* Moral Hazards and Distorted Incentives: Likelihood of wastage in the use of resources as executing agency is diff from funding agency.
* Centrality of Local Governances: PRIs execute the scheme. Responsible for identification, execution, supervision of projects as per recoms of Gram Sabha and Ward Sabha.
Gram Sabha chooses the projects for implementation.
-Ensures accountability. Conducts regular social audits
So capacity building is necessary.
* Administrative and Institutional Arrangements
* Technology: NREGP is a large scale program and complex. So technology should be used to facilitate its implementation. Efficiency, expediency, accountability, transparency, prevention of leakages etc.
* Corruption and leakages: Simultaneous monitoring by Gram Sabhas, SHG, Local Monitoring Committees , NGOs. Monitoring should be institutionalized by defining clear charter of roles, responsibility through activity mapping, capacity building of all monitoring agencies.
* Transparency in selection of beneficiaries, identification of works, preparation of estimates. Muster rolls should be freely available for inspection. Payments to workers should be made public on pre-announced dates. Panchayat has to discharge all obligation stipulated under the RTI.
* Community Participation a planning, implementing, supervising, monitoring of the schemes. Community decision making on the choice of works.
* Special Challenge of Backward Areas. Weak governance structure, low organizational capacity and highly stratified (divided castes) social and economic power structure. Difficult terrain. Poor accessibility. Poor infrastructure.
1. Special Problems of Backward Districts
* Extremism - Naxalism, Insurgence, Scheduled Areas, Tribal Area
* Non-functionality of PRIs. Widespread poverty. Mostly in arid and semi arid regions. No connectivity, low spread of banks and post offices.
* Socioeconomic indicators mostly below national average. Literacy, female literacy etc. %age of SC, ST population is high.
* Primarily agricultural society - Large %age of Agriculture Labors More than 33% of national average.
* Large scale prevalence of landlessness.
* PESA - Panchayats Extension to Scheduled Area Act 1996
* Powers and responsibilities of PRIs, Gram Sabhas in PESA is different from other areas. Gram Sabhas approves plans, projects, before they are taken up for implementation by the Panchayat at the village level. Gram Sabha identifies the beneficiaries, certify utilization of funds by Panchayat.
* No Uniformity in sizes of population and areas in villages and districts. And no uniformity in the norms for administrative staffing, service delivery
* Very poor mechanisms. Understaffing = overburdened, leakages, lack of motivation and professional competence. So, administrative apparatus should be strengthened.
* Gender Gaps
1. Issues and Recoms
* 5.2 Change towards universalization and Entitlements
* Guaranteeing Reach Creating awareness (through programs) among the people to register for work. Registration should be transparent and objective. Inherent prejudices in the rural society due to case class, religion and thus some cases are not registered. Social boycott, exclusion. So effective monitoring mechanisms involving civil society organisms should be created Recom
* Guaranteeing Outcomes Socio-economic impact evaluation should be conducted regularly. Impact on livelihood security, etc. Evaluation helps in policy corrections.
* Parameters poverty, nutrition, sustainability of income from assets created, the extent of unemployment, magnitude of migration, and access to different essential services, average annual income, and average market wage for agricultural laborers these should be determined with pre-define threshold level so as to meet the objectives of NREGA substantially.
* Districts should be ranked according to their performance. Parameters durability of assts, %age of people employed, involvement of Gram Sabhas, accountability, transparent, timeliness etc.
* Ensuring Convergence NREGA; objective livelihood security. It requires not just employment but also health services, education, housing, food security, social security, etc.
* Recoms- Convergence with other service delivery systems is required.
* Convergence with other infrastructure/asset creating programs. Convergence of funds of both, i.e. emerging the labour component of NREGA with the capital component of another program. This may create serious accounting problems.
* Convergence in planning. Currently, all major schemes have their own prescribed mythology of preparing a plan. 73rd Amendment Act There should be one integrated area plan for economic development and all sectoral/schemes wise plans should be developed from the plan. Synergy can be achieved.
* Convergence in machinery and infrastructure and monitoring - At present, different implementation machinery often working vertical silos. This leads to wastage of resources, leakages, duplication of administrative staff and infrastructure like buildings, computer, and equipment. So all rural development programs should be transferred to PRIs. They should be adequately funded and provided with well trained officials.
* Convergence with Bharat Nirman:- Central scheme for rural infrastructure in partnership with states and PRIs. (2005-09). Bharat Nirman has some targets set in creating rural infrastructure electricity, all weather roads, drinking waters, telephone connectivity, housing, irrigation. It needs large manual labours.
* Expanding the Schemes already expanded.
* 5.3 Union funding and state execution
* Accountability Mechanisms - Maturing federalism. States are increasingly empowered to determine their own policies and programs. Role of union is expanding in new ways.
* Education, healthcare, rural and urban development, social security largely under state jurisdiction. And yet, these services are increasingly driven by union govt. policies and funds.
* Reasons Paucity of resources at state level, need for standardization of services, equitable balanced development, imperatives of achieving challenges of growing economy; Different execution and funding agencies erodes accountability.
* Union govt funds bears entire cost of wages of unskilled manual workers; 75% of cost of materials and cost of wages of skilled & semi skilled workers; administrative expenses.
* States - 25% ; unemployment allowance incase work cant be provided.
* A distorted incentive system is created because of the funding pattern.
(Because in some cases of works like earthworks where no material component is required, states contribution is nil)
(Wherein inc in the central funds doesnt inc the matching funds of the states)
Thus states may run the schemes on a larger scale or for longer time than is actually required.
* Similarly, a Panchayat which prevents misuse of funds would in long run end up getting lesser funds than a Panchayat which is not so meticulous is ensuring proper use of funds under the schemes.
* So need for strong accountability mechanisms. (monitoring and evaluation), independent agencies, IT.
* Fixing wage rates - (minimum wages act)
* Variations in notified min wages for agricultural labors in different states.
* Min wages are generally fixed on time rate basis (per day etc) where as works are executed on piece rate basis (wage for piece of work)
* Reconciliation between the two is a challenge.
* Recoms: A detailed study about min wages should be made before fixing min wage.
* Financial Management System
* Essential elements of a system:
1. Adequate availability of funds
2. Smooth flow of funds from GOI to districts to Gram Panchayat, to workers.
3. Smooth flow of financial info from Panchayats to district, states, union.
4. Reliable accounting system.
5. Timely detection of financial violation
6. Transparency and accountability
Operational guidelines for fund flows as of now
* National Employment Guarantee Fund to State Employment Guarantee Fund (EGF) to District EGF to Panchayat EGF
* Release of funds to districts
* Cost and time both increase when funds flow through unnecessary intermediate levels. Experience shows that when centrally sponsors schemes (CSS) are routed through state govts, there are substantial delays in receipt of funds at lowest level.
* Argument for routing through states is that plans and budgets can be prepared, implemented and monitored more effectively only when state is the recipient and disbursal authority. However, this can be achieved by only giving info about the flow of funds to the states.
* Recoms Transfer funds directly to districts, which are closer to the points of utilization. Districts should be made nodal points for funds and Information.
* Pre-requisites for release of funds-
* In all Centrally Sponsors Schemes, the backlog in utilization of funds is huge.
* Recoms If a state doesnt make its contribution, it may be deducted from its central Assistance for State Plans.
* Proactive not reactive fund flows- to avoid delays in payment (for workers and employment schemes)
* Earlier (reactive fund flow), centre used to transfer funds to states (for CSS) only after states completely utilized the earlier funds. (utilization certificates) not appropriate for demand based schemes.
* Delays results in wastage of money in the form of employment allowance.
* Recoms: Delays can be avoided if certain minimum amount is always maintained in the Panchayat Employment Guarantee Funds.
* System of releasing funds based on utilization certificates should be replaces with a system of concurrent monitoring and audit through an independent agency.
* Panchayat Accounts with banks funds are transferred to them Replenished periodically.
* Emphasis on outputs and outcomes
* Recoms: PRIs have to ensure the quality and nature of assets created. Info and evidence on these aspects would have to be compiled and made available to all. Mandatory periodic social audits.
* Checks and Balances-
* Current mechanisms or ensuring proper utilization of funds are utilization certificates and audits. UC is a self certification document issued by a public authority (District program coordinator or someone else) certifying that the funds utilized by it have been expended as per the rules. It is expected that the public authority has carried out necessary verifications.
* UCs doesnt guarantee proper utilization of funds as verifications are seldom carried out.
* UCs delays in payments Audits are very irregular, generally.
* Concurrent Monitoring and Audit System: verification of accounts of all the implementing agencies (3 tier PRIs). Verification of works carried out too. By independent external agency. Every month. It will point out the discrepancies. Monitors the compliance of earlier observations.
* Recoms PRIs should be educated about new computerized accounting systems, funds flow management etc. Misappropriated money should be recovered from the responsible Panchayat or persons.
* Financial Information System:
* Recoms Gram Panchayat forwards all financial info to block Panchayat. aggregate all the info and forward to District Panchayat (nodal agency). Computerization of all blocks so easy availability of info Standardized formats - A uniform financial info system for the entire country.
* Mode of payment to workers- Through banks and post offices. But bank is very limited. Most of the Panchayat do not have a branch of a nationalized bank. Payment through banks and post-offices though are the surest way to ascertain the amount but they poses administrative and accessibility problems.
* Recoms: Choice of the mode of payment should be left to the workers; payment in cash may be the preferred option. The agency preparing the muster rolls must be different from the agency making payment to the workers. In drought prone areas, a part of the wages may be distributed in terms of food grains.
* Role of banks and post offices in funds flow-
* Large no. of zero balance accounts have to be opened. Transactional costs of the post-offices have to be borne by govt as they cant cover their cost if the account has low amount of money.
* Other issues guidance for rural poor in their banking operations So procedures need to be simplified.
* Preparing Estimates for Works:
* Time rate vs Piece rate-
* Time rate basis payment is proportional to the time (regardless of the actual work) spent by the worker at the work place. It is good for women, elderly people etc.
* Disadvantages low productivity, quality of assets
* Piece rate basis amount of work done. = measurement of work is necessary. Possibility of misuse of funds is very less.
* Being used in Rajasthan from 2006. Many other states too.
* Physical work is converted into monetary terms using the Schedule of Rates Prescribed by PWD in the state. Variation across the states. Rates are not updated. Prevalent market wages are high.
* Recoms States should evolve a more realistic rural schedule of rates for each district with certain min wage prescribed. District technical resources support group will supervise it.
* For elderly people, women, their normal productivity should be taken into account while preparing schedules.
* Centre should coordinate the nationalizing of schedule rate across the states.
* Maintaining Labor Material Ratio:-
* 60:40 in terms of cost of the work maintained at all levels of PRIs. May be misused for balancing of certain works.
* Eg 3 works undertaken by Gram Panchayat in a year. 2 have 80:20 and 3rd may have 20:80 to balance it out generate no employment.
* Recoms Ratio should be adhered in each work. If it is not possible at every level, atleast at Gram/Block levels it should be maintained.
* Mechanism for Procurement:-
* Procurement of material. 40% of total funds.
* Recoms Need for evolving transparent procurement procedures. (by the states)
* 5.4 Administrative and Institutional Arrangement
* Strengthening Local Govt (LSGs)
* Building Intuitions :-
* Gram Sabha (GS), Gram Panchayat (GP), Intermediate Panchayat (IP), District Panchayat (DP) all have role in planning and implementation of NREGA
* GS monitoring, social audit.
* GP (recruited by GS) identification, execution of works.
* PRI are not sufficiently empowered to implement large schemes. Collector often supervises the implementation of NREGA.
* Recoms: PRIs should be empowered Transfer all development schemes which are better managed locally. Transfer administration machinery to implement them. PRIs should evolve into institution which can plan, execute develop programs.
* District Rural Development Agencies (DRDA) should be included in the District Panchayat.
* Capability building:-
* PRIs understaffed. Officials posted in difficult areas do not reside there and prefer to function far from their place of work = Program suffers.
* Solutions 1) Appoint from local people 2) Appointment to a particular post rather than to a service cadre 3) contractual appointments 4) relaxation of some qualification if local persons with requisite qualifications are not available make up capability building programs 5) services of proven NGOs
* Gram Panchayat level administrative staff performs administrative functions, technical staff gives technical advice, prepares estimates, supervise the execution of work, measures the work, quantify the value of the work.
* Theres acute shortage of technical staff not enough engineers.
* Recoms: - a panel of non-govt engineers may be engaged at the block level. local educated youth can be trained to prepare (under non-govt engineers) estimates for work
* Areas affected by extremism officials often work through remote control. They should be motivated to work directly through special incentives liberal life insurance cover, hardship allowance, govt accommodation for family outside that place etc.
* Training should be a continuous process.
* Subjects in training of PRI Concept of poverty; NREGA; RTI; associated laws of NREGA like min wages Act etc.
* Distance learning technology should be used in remote areas. NGOs, SHGs, should be used to impart trainings. Evaluation of training activities through independent organization.
* Selection and Maintenance of Works:-
* Block Panchayat (BP) approves block level plan. Forwards it to District Panchayat (D.P.)
* DP approves block-wise shelf of projects.
* District planning committee consolidates Panchayat and municipal plans in the district and prepare by a draft development plan for the district as a whole.
* Recoms All individual works should be in harmony with District Development Plan be watershed development in the area.
* Most works relate to drought proofing, irrigation, land treating. Boundaries of watersheds mostly transcends the boundaries of GP or BP. So BP and DP should coordinate the work in that case/
* NREGA Provision atleast 50% of the works (in terms of cost) should be implemented at GP level. Bp take up work only in case of inter-Panchayat works or where GPs have not been able to meet the demand for employment.
* Block Resource Centre (BRC):-
* Technical experts planners, water resource experts, agricultural scientists they are essential at all levels.
* RBC should be constituted at the block levels under the guidance of District Technical Resource Support Center. (DTRSC)
* Currently TRSC, at central, state, district levels only.
* Recoms: Setup BRC
* Entrepreneurship Institution for the rural poor-
* Necessary to equip the beneficiaries under NREGA with knowledge based skills so that they dont have to do manual labour for livelihood.
* RUDSET program in Karnataka (Rural Development & Self Employment Training) Trained 1 Lac+ persons Public-Pvt-Partnetship - 70% of those trained setup their own enterprises.
* Recoms- Entrepreneurship training institutes should be setup in every block to make people seek self-employment.
* Monitoring Systems
* Ministry of Rural Development developing a comprehensive Monitoring and Information System (MIS). A notional online monitoring system for key performance indicators will be evolved.
* Recoms- Evaluation based on many parameters, not just the reports of 1) Employment generation, 2) Financial progress, 3) Physical progress of works.
* Independent monitoring and auditing agencies to carry out concurrent monitoring and audit. They should visit Panchayat every month, check all the records.
* Curbing Corruption and Leakage:
* Shift from allocation based approach to entitlement based Allocation based approach has built in checks against leakages (although to a limited extent). In these schemes, resources are limited, so implementing agencies are forced by the society, to use resources properly.
NREGP no limits on funds demand driven misused.
* Earthworks less durable so difficult for verification.
* Inflation of estimated cost of the works.
* Pronged approach:-
1. Templates of estimates at block level of general works should be prepare showing the inputs of labor and material required. This can act as an aid for preparation of estimates.
2. Documentation of all works and payments should be made perfect.
3. Very strong community control an audit mechanism should be put in place.
4. Independent monitors should carry verification of all records and assets
* An effective grievances redressal mechanism.
* Developing standardized and simplified procedures for preparation of estimates makes the work of PRIs and civil society easy.
* Muster roll and Measurement books (measurement of work done) -> (these are most imp records) -> maintained by PRIs
* Recoms: - Muster roll and Measurement books should incorporate the physical dimensions of works backed by photographs of the work executed at different stages.
* Community control and racial audit of all works:-
* The act has a provision for setting up of a local vigilance and monitoring committee to monitor the progress and quality of work. Gram Sabha elects member to this committee and ensures adequate representation of SC/STs
* Gram Sabha regular social audits of all works.
Social audit is a process in which, details of the resource, both financial and one-financial, used by public agencies for department initiatives are shared with the community, often through a public platform -Enforcing accountability and transparency- Prescribed a continuous audit and a mandatory social audit forum one in 6 months.
* Social Audits Pre-requisite proper records, expertise to conduct audit, awareness among Gram Sabha members about their rights.
* Independent rectification of Records and Works Independent field monitoring system carry out concurrent monitoring and auditing so that corrective steps could be taken imm.
* Grievances Redressal Mechanism (GRM) Programme Officer at the block level is designated as the Grievance Redressal Officer and the District Programme Coordinator is designated as Grievance Redressal Officer at the district level.
* Recoms: - GRM should be proactive in reaching out to the people to redress their grievances. Take up cases Suo Moto.
* Transparency and RTI:
* Recoms- awareness generation about NREGA and RTI.
Awareness campaigns. Outsourcing generation tasks to NGOs and SHGs (Self Help Groups)
Emphasis on suo-moto disclosure of info and not only through web because theres a limited access to web.
NGOs have reach even in remote areas. They should be involved in implementing too.
* Use of IT:-
* Efficiency, accountability, flexibility objectives.
* Recoms:- Blocks as nodal, fully-electronic points Blocks (or villages, depending on internet connectivity) must be nodal levels of govt at which all info is electronic.
- Any info collected in non-electronic form at this or lower level of govt must be digitalized at
block level.
- Minimum and common set of national standard for data, collection, storage, retrieval.
- Assessment
- UID (Unique Identification) to each individual (being implemented)
- Earlier UID to each household.
- Computerisation of records at Gram Panchayat level.
- Periodic reviews
- (Voluntary) Suo-Moto disclosures
* GIS (Geographic Information System) for visualization of data on map spaces must be developed. Analysis solely from databases (without visualization) is very difficult. Visualization required to identify strengths and weakness in geographic terms.
* Unique Identification
Unambiguously establish identity of each beneficiary. Process of setting up of such a database Start from a database which is error free (like govt employees database) and keeps on adding other database. (like PAN, passport, driving license, LPG connection etc). Keep on eliminating errors, duplicates. PAN, passport, driving license etc covers mostly non-rural areas.- So NREGA database will be very useful Mutually Synergistic.
* IT system for financial Management Technology to keep costs under control by providing effective monitoring platform for expenditures, by allowing bypassing (by direct transfers of financial info flow) of unnecessary levels of financial administration.
Facilitates responsiveness and monitoring
* IT system for monitoring and evaluation of efficiency, effectiveness
Analysis of data reported by various implementing governments- Inspections (detecting errors) during operations correcting systematic inefficiencies and adopt the best practices.
- Recoms Prepare list of parameters for evaluation Automatic alerts in the IT system in case
of certain measurable violations.
- Ranks for all blocks in the country should be generated through IT based performance.
- GIS by IT.
* RTI in NREGA, use of IT:- Storing, processing of data, easy retrieval of data in intelligible form. Most of the raw information should be disclosed voluntarily. IT should be able to integrate the data disclose to generate suo-moto reports automatically.
* Smart Cards:- A plastic card roughly of the size of a credit card with a microchip embedded. This microchip cold be a mere data storage device and in advanced versions this may also incorporate a microprocessor. The storage device can store details of individuals and their transactions with govt. Details including biometric to confirm the identity of holders.
* Used like credit cards, access control, public transport ticketing.
* Use of smartcards requires infrastructure which includes access facilities like kiosks equipped with card reading and writing devices, card issuing and updating systems, data management systems etc.
* Same cards should be used for multiple purposes and not just NREGA.
* Implementation of NREGA in 5th and 6th Schedule Areas
* Relief employment at present given by revenue dept of states 10-12 days of relief employment every month to a beneficiary Wages in form of Cash and Food Grains can live for one month (rural household)
* Relief employment financed from relief funds Calamity Relief Fund (CRF)
* NCCF national calamity contingency fund in case of need for additional funds.
* Recoms:- In times of calamities in an area, employment should be given under NREGA. Relief Employment only for those persons who exhausted their entitlement under NREGA. (Parallel running of both leaks to wastage, corruption, administration problems)
* List of permissible works: Most of the works listed are suitable to drought prone and dry areas. Need to expand it with works suitable to local (climate and topography) requirements in different season Listed works are not suitable in high rainfall areas, J&K -> in winters.
- Watershed development, drought proofing, afforestation, land development.
- Expand watershed land development in private lands too (marginal and small farmers, SC/STs)
* Records:- Jobcards given to each household keeps track of the entitlement of the household (they are only such doc.) Details of the households, wages paid, work done, no. of days for which employment is provided etc.
Recoms:- Jobcards ledger should be maintained by PRIs to prevent tampering of jobcads.
* Coordination Mechanism:-
Various agencies are setup now.
Central Employment Guarantee Council (CEGC) Setup by Centre. CEGC advices GOI on
Implementation of the act, establishing and evaluating the monitoring system, preparation of annual
reports to be laid before parliament.
State EGC (Employment Guarantee Council) These roles + deciding on the preferred works
Similar institutions for other flagship programmes + Bharat Nirman are setup.
* Recoms:- Similar Committees at state and district levels
A common inter-ministerial, empowered steering committee for NREGA, and other flagship programs, Bharat Nirman may be set up with the Cabinet Secretary as the chairman and secretaries of concerned dept/ministries as members.
Their powers:-
1. Oversee the work of sectoral ministerial committees in order to remove differences, bottlenecks, and lack of synergy and issue directions to bring about an integrated approach.
2. Takes timely and appropriate decisions for effective and accountable implementation of the concerned programs.
3. Bring about better coordination in implementation.
4. Ensure the centrality of local govts.
* Conclusion:-
* Will strengthen PRI, enable participatory planning at grass roots level, empower women, harbinger of rural transformation, bridge gender gaps, bring decentralization, energies administration and institutions structures, leading to good governance, dismantle unequal power structure.
by Shrey Rawat
Sources
1. Amarkeshs Hand-Written Notes available at https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzuxVwOA4U0YRjcwOWRjTXRJX2s&usp=sharing
2. Original ARC Reports.
* I have used Amarkeshs hand-written ARC Reports Notes to prepare this summary notes and also took
* Reference from the original ARC Reports whenever there was a requirement to add further details.
* So here you have the Summary of one of the ARC reports > much properly formatted spelling errors free
* more detailed and editable, Enjoy.
* Ill share the summaries of rest of the reports too, once theyll get finished. (Except 7th and 14th Reports)
* *Requesting*: Someone please prepare and share a summary, similarly formatted, of the 7th and the 14th Reports.
