IMPLEMENTING NREGA
Ministry of Rural Development
Krishi Bhavan
New Delhi
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NREGA is designed as a safety net to
reduce migration by rural poor households
in the lean period
through
A hundred days of guaranteed unskilled
manual labour provided when demanded
at minimum wage
on
works focused on water conservation, land
development & drought proofing 2
Key Processes
Application for job card Selection of works
Verification Approval of shelf of
Issue of job card projects
Informing village PRI
Demand for employment
Acknowledgement of Preparation of estimates
demand And approvals
Work allocation
Maintenance of muster roll
Payment of wages
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Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Generating and processing applications
for job cards
-to ensure that rural families likely to seek
unskilled manual labour are identified
-to verify against reasonably reliable local data
base so that nondomiciled contractor’s
workers are not used on NREG works
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Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Issue of job cards
Ensuring job card verification is done on the spot
against an existing data base
Reducing the time lag between application and issue
of job cards to eliminate the possibility of
rentseeking, and creating greater transparency etc
Ensuring that Job Cards are issued prior to
employment demand and work allocation rather than
being issued on work sites which could subvert the
aims of NREG
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Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Obtaining and acknowledging applications for
employment
-to ascertain choices and perceptions of households regarding lean
season employment
-to ensure exercise of the right to employment within the time
specified of fifteen days
-to ensure that works are started where and when there is demand
for labour, not demand for works
the process of issuing a dated acknowledgement for the
application for employment needs to be scrupulously observed.
In its absence, the guarantee cannot be exercised in its true spirit
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Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective.
• Selection of works by gram sabha in villages and display
after approval of shelf of projects-
-to ensure public choice, transparency and accountability and
prevent material intensive, contractor based works and
concocted works records
Execution of Works
At least half the works should be run by gram panchayats
Maintenance of muster roll by executing agency -numbered
muster rolls which only show job card holders must be found
at each work
-to prevent contractor led works 7
Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Regular measurement of work done
according to a schedule of rural rates sensitive
Supervision of Works by qualified technical
personnel on time.
Reading out muster rolls on work site during
regular measurement
-to prevent bogus records and payment of wages
below prescribed levels
8
Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Payment of wages through banks and post
offices
-to close avenues for use of contractors, short
payment and corruption
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Issues critical to fulfillment of NREGA
objective
Provision of adequate quality of work site
facilities for women and men labourers
Creation and maintenance of durable assets
Adequate audit and evaluation mechanisms
Widespread institution of social audit and use
of findings
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Fund for NREGA
NREGA Central Fund rules in process of
finalisation
Fund to be maintained in the form of non-
lapsable public account and budget to be
transferred to this account as desired by ministry
Incremental fund release on demand by States
and districts on 60% utilisation and
On the basis of performance report on physical
and financial parameters
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Procedure adopted for fund release
Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of demand for employment and fund
requirement is being made based on
-reported number of those seeking employment
Checked against
Job cards demanded and issued &
employment provided and average turnout at work sites (as reported by State
and observed by field visits)
Manner in which job card registration and demand for employment are being
processed at field level (as seen from reports of area officers and NMs)
fund availability (as reported by State)
The endeavour is to place at once funds to meet up to 100 days of employment for
those reported to be seeking employment at district level
Fund allocation and utilisation and mandays generated in same districts under
wage employment programs last year is looked at for placing some funds on ad
hoc basis in States for which there is no demand and little data to ensure
adequate fund availability, up-front.
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IT interface to the programme
NIC developed generalised software being used by States with
appropriate modification.
Andhra Pradesh: IT solution being used to register households and
generate formats for implementation of works at mandal level.
Problem areas are:
Connectivity
Last mile IT outreach at the cutting edge level of the village
Non familiarity of the beneficiary workforce with IT usages.
Committee set up to suggest hardware alternatives at the village
level:
Handheld devices utility is being assessed.
A group set up for accreditation of IT software that private IT
experts may wish to develop for NREGA that can then be
recommended to States for their consideration.
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Visits of National Monitors and Area
Officers to Major States
• 58 monitors made field visits in March, 2006 and 30 Area Officers visited States/districts
in April, 2006 Another 90 NLMs are visiting the remaining districts .
No. of visits by monitors No. of visits of area officers
A.P. 4 3
Bihar 7 2
Chattisgarh 2 2
Jharkhand 3 2
Maharashtra 2 2
M.P. 3 4
Orissa 7 1
Rajasthan 2 6
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U.P. 6 2
Qualitative monitoring and studies
by professional institutions
*Five institutions of repute identified to
undertake studies in 12 States
Report to be submitted in 90 days
Covering roughly 10 villages over 2 blocks
and 20 households to be covered in each
village
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Details of Institutions
Indian Centre for IIM Bangalore Institute of Centre for
Institute of Budget & Human Development
Women’s Governance Development Alternatives
Studies Accountability
Objective Analyse women Monitor Identify Practical Process Suggestive
access to implementation issues of documentation; corrective
NREGA, assess of NREGA, implementation, assess impact of measures,
State Schemes, identify management NREGA on assess strengths
document labour implementation and coordination wages, and weaknesses
market challenges faced through quick employment, in Schemes
conditions, assist by State Gov, surveys at the durable
design gender Local admn and worksites, assets;policy,
sensitive works. PRIs, increase village, recommendation
awareness of conformity with s; sensitise
NREGA, Act & Guidelines stakeholders
Coverage 2 distts of 1 distt. In AP, 2 1 in AP and 1 in 6 districts of 6 districts of
Orissa,Maharash each in Karnataka Bihar Gujarat
tra, TN, WB Chattisgarh,
Jharkhand, MP
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Institutional systems
NREG Council rules formulated and notified
Council structure decided
Process of nomination initiated
Technical secretariat being set up
Technical Advisory Group consisting of
experts set up to advise on implementation
of NREGA
two meetings held,
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NREGA Progress
Date: July 12, 2006
Sl. No. State Districts Rural households Applications Job cards Employment provided No. of works Funds released
1 Andhra Pradesh 13 6104032 3954522 3954522 704101 22063 20000
2 Arunachal Pradesh 1 7905 45070 16256 272.85
3 Assam 7 923966 160897 104383 6990 534 13970.845
4 Bihar 23 8943456 2401836 1071522 505281 17619 40503.38
5 Chattisgarh 11 1792584 1696860 1534636 162480 9671 17321.72
6 Gujarat 6 1596636 604695 597028 73791 1716 4113.94
7 Harayana 2 304178 81489 76421 15573 288 913.39
8 Himachal Pradesh 2 167349 70084 62408 24848 2249 683.64
9 Jammu & Kashmir 3 319692 169038 65531 4127 283 986.365
10 Jharkhand 20 3806040 1755005 1171831 467832 9451 37618.59
11 Karanataka 5 1484815 572892 315412 118810 3678 6329.69
12 Kerala 2 603527 225133 2179.51
13 Madhya Pradesh 18 3890287 4281258 4144413 1804953 69783 93617.22
14 Maharashtra 12 3706706 4139778 1094659 183075 6152 17961.645
15 Manipur 1 22299 45172 17880 570.89
16 Meghalaya 2 109577 2064.68
17 Mizoram 2 22828 41808 29016 298.9
18 Nagaland 1 48697 430.11
19 Orissa 19 3503354 2702290 1900553 563681 23559 31516.56
20 Punjab 1 237480 39318 33375 21284 976 755.75
21 Rajasthan 6 1461606 1443720 1423013 846263 13809 40000
22 Sikkim 1 7955 4696 4696 451.5
23 Tamil Nadu 6 1811557 541568 535519 82009 668 9889.21
24 Tripura 1 57709 62736 58114 16218 327 1456.66
25 Utttar Pradesh 22 9021545 1950901 1641250 466726 15627 33498.69
26 Uttranchal 3 211495 282182 176636 6206 1739 1910.6
27 West Bengal 10 7374151 3322241 1149145 495493 3305 18358.84
TOTAL 200 57541426 30595189 21178219 6569741 203497 397675.175
# In column applications are for registration of households
# Blank spaces in the table denote information not received from States
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Index:
1. Funds released pertain to 2006-7 [in lakh Rs.]
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