Plan panel says all's well
NREGP SCAN
It is now more or less universally acknowledged that there is substantial pilferage from the National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP).
But there is some good news for the Manmohan Singh government which launched the programme with much fanfare: Numbers collated by the Planning Commission show that it has done better than the earlier job schemes of the Centre.
A study done by Planning Commission Economist and Advisor Santosh Mehrotra said that the Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY), launched in 2001 by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government, generated only 26 man-days per household in 2005-06 when it covered all districts before being phased out this year.
In comparison, the NREGP achieved 43 man-days in 2006-07 covering just 200 districts. However, the number declined to 42 man-days in 2007-08 covering 330 districts.
That apart, NREGP outshines all other schemes in sheer size. The total employment generated under NREGP is clearly much larger than the earlier employment schemes, SGRY and the National Food For Work Programme, the study said.
While the earlier programmes generated 748 million man-days in 2002-03 and 856 million in 2003-04, under NREGP the figure touched 905 million in 2006-07 (in just 200 districts) and 1,437 million in 2007-08 (330 districts). It has now been extended to all the 500-plus districts of the country. The numbers for the current financial year, consequently, are expected to be still higher.
While the present scheme hinges on its guarantee of providing 100 days of paid work on demand to whoever demands it, 10 per cent of all those who demanded got 100 days of work in 2006-07. In the following year, it rose to 11 per cent, the study revealed.
However, the Planning Commission has admitted in the study that if the scheme was meant for the poorest of the poor, the most backward and poor states found no use for it — it got the worst reception in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The three BJP-ruled states of Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had the most number of people who got 100 days of work, the report said.
Mehrotra said the turnout for NREGP has been better than earlier programmes because it is open-ended and not limited by targets. It is demand-driven and anyone who wants work can apply. It has no restrictions like families below the poverty line or Dalits alone can apply. In SGRY, there was a 30 per cent quota for women and a 25 per cent quota for SC/ST.
Also, while a part of the payments under SGRY was done in foodgrain and the rest in cash, the entire payment under NREGP is in cash. This leaves the rural households to plan their income and savings better.
What makes it better, according to Mehrotra, is the caveat that in 40 per cent of the works undertaken under NREGP no machines will be used. “In fact, that is why the schedule of rates followed routinely by the Public Works Departments is being found unacceptable for NREGP,” he added.
According to Mehrotra, 73 per cent of NREGP funds are spent on wages. However, this is contradicted by the findings of the National Institute of Rural Development, which was engaged by the Orissa government to audit the scheme in the state, which said that more money was being spent on materials and only 61 per cent wages were actually being paid.