Oct 22 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)
Revamped MGNREGA May Take More Ministries Aboard
Yogima Sharma
|
New Delhi
|
Govt to rope in depts such as land resources, social forestry to create bigger assets under the scheme
The government plans to rope in various departments and ministries such as agriculture, land resources, horticulture and social forestry to create bigger and more durable assets under the rural job guarantee scheme, going ahead with its plans to revamp the national programme.“Considering the capacity constraint at the gram panchayat level, which is the main implementing agency for allocating works under the scheme, we are considering to substantially increase convergence with other ministries or line departments for creation of bigger and sustainable assets under the scheme,“ a senior government official told ET.
According to the official, besides their technical expertise, these ministries will pump in some portion of their funds to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme, contrary to fears that tweaking of the scheme will lead to lesser funds for wages.
Implementing agencies, other than gram panchayats (GPs), today constitute a mere 10% of the works taken under the scheme.The proposal is to increase this to 20%. “The proposal is under consideration by finance ministry and we hope to finalise it in two weeks,“ the official said. Nitin Gadkari-led rural development ministry had last month announced that the government would increase the material component under the MGNREGA scheme to 49% from 40% to enable states take up bigger works at the district level. “The decision has been taken in response to widespread criticism that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, has become a source of corruption and that no productive assets are being created through the rural job scheme,“ Gadkari had said.
The move attracted widespread criticism, and last week a group of around 30 economists had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him not to dilute or restrict provisions of MGNREGA. The government is of the opinion that the efficiency and productivity of the rural jobs guarantee scheme will improve after its revamp. Explaining the rationale behind tweaking the wage-to-material ratio for selected works under the scheme despite criticism from economists, the official quoted earlier said the entire focus of the government is to give equal weightage to wage employment and creation of durable asset.
“In the context of further improving the quality of durable assets or enabling creation of sustainable assets, this ratio of 51:49 may be a step forward,“ the person said.
Convergence with other ministries will ensure technical expertise and knowledge of implementing bigger projects that are relatively more material intensive. Also, these central agencies will be able to handle the spillover between different panchayats, the official said.
Works that would fall under the revamped MGNREGA scheme largely include construction of check dams, de-silting of traditional water bodies, construction of minor irrigation tanks and canals.
MGNREGA, which has annual allocation of ` . 34,000 crore in the current year, guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. On an average, 25% of the rural households seek employment under the Act annually.
According to the official, besides their technical expertise, these ministries will pump in some portion of their funds to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) programme, contrary to fears that tweaking of the scheme will lead to lesser funds for wages.
Implementing agencies, other than gram panchayats (GPs), today constitute a mere 10% of the works taken under the scheme.The proposal is to increase this to 20%. “The proposal is under consideration by finance ministry and we hope to finalise it in two weeks,“ the official said. Nitin Gadkari-led rural development ministry had last month announced that the government would increase the material component under the MGNREGA scheme to 49% from 40% to enable states take up bigger works at the district level. “The decision has been taken in response to widespread criticism that Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, MGNREGA, has become a source of corruption and that no productive assets are being created through the rural job scheme,“ Gadkari had said.
The move attracted widespread criticism, and last week a group of around 30 economists had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him not to dilute or restrict provisions of MGNREGA. The government is of the opinion that the efficiency and productivity of the rural jobs guarantee scheme will improve after its revamp. Explaining the rationale behind tweaking the wage-to-material ratio for selected works under the scheme despite criticism from economists, the official quoted earlier said the entire focus of the government is to give equal weightage to wage employment and creation of durable asset.
“In the context of further improving the quality of durable assets or enabling creation of sustainable assets, this ratio of 51:49 may be a step forward,“ the person said.
Convergence with other ministries will ensure technical expertise and knowledge of implementing bigger projects that are relatively more material intensive. Also, these central agencies will be able to handle the spillover between different panchayats, the official said.
Works that would fall under the revamped MGNREGA scheme largely include construction of check dams, de-silting of traditional water bodies, construction of minor irrigation tanks and canals.
MGNREGA, which has annual allocation of ` . 34,000 crore in the current year, guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a financial year to a rural household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work. On an average, 25% of the rural households seek employment under the Act annually.
