The Hindu : National : “Irregularities in NREGA”

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Thursday, Jun 21, 2007
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National

“Irregularities in NREGA”

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: A survey on the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) has said that many irregularities remain in its implementation despite improvements in the past one year in areas such as levels of employment and payment of minimum wages. Corruption also seems to have declined.

The survey, conducted in the remote Surguja district of Chhattisgarh last week by students of the Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru Universities, points out that implementation of transparency safeguards was essential to eradicate corruption. These include availability of muster rolls at workplaces, disclosure of all NREGA-related documents on demand, making complete entries in the job cards when wages are paid and paying wages in public.

It was found that wherever these safeguards were implemented, corruption was relatively less and the scheme was of great help in protecting people from poverty, unemployment and hunger.

The survey covered 19 work spots, spread over 15 gram panchayats in Batuli Block. The public hearings were attended by 300 local residents. The survey found that most families in the block had obtained a job card without paying for it. However, various irregularities were observed in their distribution, such as applicants being charged for photograph and joint cards being issued to joint families.

In Gram Panchayat Silma, it was found that only “Below Poverty Line” families were given job cards. In Bilaspur, people had to pay up to Rs. 60 for photograph. Under the Act, job cards are supposed to be provided on demand, free of cost.

The survey found that most people were unaware of the application procedure, or even of the need to apply. Work applications were submitted only in a few isolated cases.

Applications were often discouraged or refused, and where they were accepted, work was rarely provided within 15 days. In Govindpur and Jharganwa, work was provided only after four months. No receipts were issued anywhere for work applications, even in Chiparakaya, where people insisted on dated receipts.

Wages not paid

At almost 70 per cent of the work sites, wages were not paid within 15 days as required under the Act. In Nakna and Tilaighar, three months had passed since payment was due. Apart from causing extreme hardship to labourers, delayed wage payments often made them lose interest in the programme.

Transparency safeguards were flouted at every work site, with supervisors recording attendance in informal notebooks and filling the official register later. Similarly, incomplete or missing entries were found in many job cards.

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