Padmapur, KORAPUT: Delay in postal payment and getting of labour identity number pose a serious threat in the effective functioning of MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in Padmapur panchayat of Koraput district. Lack of awareness among the illiterate residents also aggravates the problem.
According to the Panchayat sources, MGNREGA was implemented in the year 2006 and since then it has been continuing. Annually Rs. 60 lakh comes for this purpose. Till date 1500 job cards have been issued to the people. The manual works undertaken in this act are agricultural land development, digging up farm ponds, construction of village roads, facilitation of irrigation facilities, tree plantation and other infrastructural development projects in rural areas. The panchayat officials also claim that they are able to provide 100 days of work per year at wage rate of Rs. 90 per day to each of the job card holder, as stipulated in the act.
At the same time, officials also complain against the delay in postal payment system where each of the beneficiaries has to open a passbook through which daily wages would be paid. Thus, the poor labourers who depend on daily wages for sustenance of their family are not willing to work under the scheme. Further aggravating the problem is the long process of issuing a new job card where panchayats have to send the name of the person to DRDA (District Rural Development Agency) for getting labour identity number. As most of the residents of this panchayat are illiterate, they are not able to get their job cards or open a passbook on their own. Thus, the onus lies solely on with the panchayat officials.
If the higher authority facilitates speedy disbursal of postal payment and issue labour identity number promptly, efficiency would be achieved in the implementation of this scheme. The full effectiveness of the scheme would only be achieved when poor and illiterate people of the panchayat are made fully aware about the nitty-gritties of the act.
(Priyaranjan Swain is studying Journalism & Mass Communication at the Central University of Orissa, Koraput. Already armed with a Master’s in Applied Economics he aspires to work for a leading newspaper after the completion of his course. Interest in socio-economic issues and day to day political affairs help him understand the complexities of our ever evolving society. He can be reached at priyaranjanswain35@gmail.com.)
A good issue to highlight but that is all about our INDIA.I wont hesitate to say it corruption land after seeing the string of corruptions like 2G,ISRO,CWG etc etc..There are lots and lots ,there will be no spcae to write if I will start regarding the corruption..a good write up..thansk for bringing it upto the notice but why everyone writes only about Koraput..is it a mandate to write abt them only..
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Krushna Sahoo
Great effort . before writing items of importance like this , we need to go through the act and the processes involved.Let it not be sources from the panchayat . But lets give time to talk to a particular person and quote him on the difficulties . Name of a person who had failed to get the payment even after working long back , adds strength to the article . Great initiative , Please keep it up
ReplyDeleteGood Observations Priya! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I would like to throw some light on a few more dimensions of NREGA:
(1) MGNREGA is a right based scheme. Therefore, the scheme makes the provision to provide unemployment allowance if the job card holders fails to get job within 15 days. If you look at the data posted in the website also, there is rare evidence of the payment of unemployment allowance. This reflects that the voiceless rural poor have not become conscious of their right to work with dignity.
(2) The caste hierarchy in rural areas still continues. In our study area we found that by and large the people engaged in NREGA work belong to the ST/SC community.
(3)NREGA seeks to do away the role of contractor. Nonetheless, the role or contractor still continues.
(4)Renting-out of Job cards:
There is a mismatch between the demand for and supply of NREGA work. The scheme puts the ceiling on the number of work days at 100. Of course, many of the job card holders do not complete 100 days of work. But there are a few households who need more than 100 days of work. In such cases the job seekers hire the job cards of the idle-job-cards at a premium.
Amarendra