Govt to streamline pay for rural contractors, agents

These 650,000-odd people work on a non-permanent or contractual basis, in various schemes

The central government is working on a performance-based remuneration structure for the 650,000-odd personnel who are employed in rural areas as employment assistants and community resource persons.

These people work on a non-permanent or contractual basis, in various schemes. The bulk, a little over 350,000, are engaged as Gram Rozgar Sevaks or Sahayaks. He or she typically assists in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), preparing muster rolls and other official work. Hiring is by the state government, through the block development officer (BDO). 

The sevak is paid from the six per cent administrative expense allocated for MGNREGS by the Centre, on which he has the first charge. Officials said the remuneration structure of these people is being reworked. As are those of community resource persons -- Bharat Nirman Volunteers, bank sakhis, pashu sakhis, barefoot technicians, women assistants under the National Rural Livelihood Mission, etc.

“If, suppose, a bank sakhi who typically works under women self-help groups wants to do some additional work as a gram sevak, she should be suitably rewarded for this,” a senior official explained.

He said the incentive-linked structure being prepared would be for work outside the usual domain and for extra work within the same field.

“There are almost 18,000 community resource persons engaged on a non-permanent basis by states. They, too, would come under this incentive-based structure,” the official added.

Also, the Centre is working to bring all such people under the administrative control of the panchayats. At present, this administrative control is spread across various levels — BDOs, gram pradhans, panchayats.

There is also scepticism at the move. Some states, goes one dissent, have experimented with such an incentive-based structure for people on the ground but it has failed to make any tangible impact.

“Gram Rozgar Sevaks are burdened with too much work,” Ankita Agarwal, a consultant in Jharkhand with the National Institute of Rural Development told this newspaper.