The National Rural Employment Guarantee Act., 2005

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The National Rural Employment GuaranteeAct.,
2005

• S.K. Lohani, IAS
• Commissioner Special Projects-cum-Director, SIRD

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BACKGROUND

• Magna Carta of the unorganised manual labourer
• Concept of right to work as a legal entitlement
• Culmination of 3 ½ decade old demand
• An Activists Act
• Potential for sustainable Poverty Reduction
  linked to Natural Resource Management
• Need to deconstruct unlearn the past
• Good working model has emerged
• Powerful political will for change

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KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT

•   v   100 days guarantee for willing adult
  worker
•  v Work to be applied for and provided in
  fifteen days
• Unemployment allowance for non-provision of work
• v Payment on weekly basis and not later than a
  fortnight
• Delayed payment will attract penalty under
  Payment of Wages Act
•  v Minimum wage for agricultural labour
• v State Employment Guarantee Council

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KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT

• District Collector as District Programme
  Co-ordinatior (DPC)
• BDO as the Block Programme Officer (BPO).
• Central role of PRIs
• Welfare provisions
• For children
• For accidents
• On-site facilities

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KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT

• Focus on following works
• Water conservation and water harvesting
• Drought proofing including aforestation and tree
  plantation
• Irrigation canals
• Irrigation facility to SC/ST/BPL lands
• Renovation of traditional water bodies
• Land Development
• Flood control and Drainage
• Rural connectivity

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KEY FEATURES OF THE ACT

• 1/3rd work for women
• Application for 14 days work
• Dated receipt to be given
• Work within five kilometers otherwise 10 extra
  wages
• New work for ten additional labourers

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DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

• Primary Focus on Employment
• Additional not substituted
• For Poverty Reduction from work to skill
• Ultimately self-liquidating
• Natural Resource Management
• Watershed Management
• Land Development
• Soil and water conservation
• Micro Irrigation
• Horticulture
• Eco Restoration
• Forest Work
• River rejuvenation

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DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

• Social Security
• Savings
• Local Economic Development
• Development of SC/ST/BPL Lands
• Increasing Agricultural Production
• Additional Income fueling Local Demands
• Womens Empowerment
• Womens perspectives
• Women workers
• Equal Wages
• Potential for thrift
• Improvement in intra-household status

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DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

• New opportunity for convergent poverty reduction
• MGNREGA
• NRHM
• Health Insurance
• Nutrition
• SSA
• Pensions
• PDS
• Skill development and self-employment through\
• Basic minimum needs of Peoples Plan

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DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL

• Social Mobilisation and Empowerment of worker
• Panchayat Empowerment
• Planning Capacity
• Organization Capacity
• Ward level action
• Investment in all places
• Doubling of investment
• Corruption free environment
• UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF MGNREGA

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COMPARISON OF MGNREGS EARLIER PROGRAMMES
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COMPARISON OF MGNREGS EARLIER PROGRAMMES
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CRITICAL FACTORS THAT NEED TO BE STRENGTHENED

• Expanding coverage providing 100 days
  employment to maximum households Addressing
  demand supply side issues
• Enforcing guarantee of work
• Capacity Building of PRIs Officials
• Ensuring minimum wage payment
• Selection Quality of Assets
• Community Participation Activating Gram Sabhas
• Involving NGOs Other Agencies
• Social Audit

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CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS

• Success of MGNREGA largely depends on Social
  Mobilisation at the bottom
• Political Commitment at the top
• Bureaucratic Commitment
• Decentralized Participatory Planning
• Sound technical support to Panchayats in planning
  execution of works
• Capacity Building
• Transparency Accountability at all levels of
  implementation
• Active involvement of Civil Society Organizations

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THANKS