ganeshran Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 The NREGA scheme is yet another well meaning welfare scheme that is being ruined by pisspoor implementation. The annual outlay of this scheme in the current budget is 40000 crores. It sounds great on paper with the money being used to complete crucial development projects at the village level. But sadly the reality is quite different. The selection of projects is not proper. Villagers have very little say in the process The working hours are overreported. Most of the time work takes place only till 2pm every day The wage is not 100 Rs as recorded. The workers get only Rs 70 in exchange for working half a day The number of workers and projects are routinely fudged. Huge amount of seepage in the scheme The government should take urgent steps to improve the implementation of NREGA. P.S: My observations are based on what I saw of this scheme's implementation in Tamilnadu, If you found it better in your state please feel free to state so.
saneindian Posted May 4, 2011 Posted May 4, 2011 Ask a poor villager who struggles to arrange for meals for his kids every evening how much the NREGA means to him. Even a 100-200 rs given to him (even if it is for no works) ensures his family gets to eat for a few days. So that ways absolutely nothing wrong with the concept itself. Problem lies in a corrupt system looting the fund and depriving those for whom it is meant from what is their right. For a country with such a vast social and economic divide as ours, NREGA is the perfect socialist cure for such a problem. Alas the corrupt systems ensures not even 50% of the total money goes to the needy. What is even worse is some states not being able to utilise the NREGA funds given to them. There are certain upright bureaucrats in certain districts who have shown what can be achieved if the NREGA funds are used properly by putting the money to good use in building social infrastructure at the local level. If only there could be an independent auditor in every state to monitor the utilisation of NREGA fund.
ganeshran Posted May 4, 2011 Author Posted May 4, 2011 Ask a poor villager who struggles to arrange for meals for his kids every evening how much the NREGA means to him. Even a 100-200 rs given to him (even if it is for no works) ensures his family gets to eat for a few days. So that ways absolutely nothing wrong with the concept itself. Problem lies in a corrupt system looting the fund and depriving those for whom it is meant from what is their right. For a country with such a vast social and economic divide as ours, NREGA is the perfect socialist cure for such a problem. Alas the corrupt systems ensures not even 50% of the total money goes to the needy. What is even worse is some states not being able to utilise the NREGA funds given to them. There are certain upright bureaucrats in certain districts who have shown what can be achieved if the NREGA funds are used properly by putting the money to good use in building social infrastructure at the local level. If only there could be an independent auditor in every state to monitor the utilisation of NREGA fund. I agree with the intention behind NREGA. Its the implementation which is horrible. We cannot just hand out money, when its being paid for labour, it should be put to good use. The independent auditor idea is great. But Kaangress has a aversion to any independent body scrutinizing their actions.
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