The much-hyped National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of the UPA government has limited takers, according to a study carried out by Centre for Science & Environment (CSE).
The study, carried out across nine states like Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Orissa, Gujarat and Karnataka, suggest that the programme has failed to generate any major interest at the village levels.
In contrast to the NREGA, which guarantees 100 days of manual works, labour contractors provide more than 200 days of works in urban areas, the CSE study has said. ?Casual labourers prefer to bunk the NREGA for more assured number of employment days and the programme has failed to articulate itself as more of a development programme than a wage employment programme,? Richard Mahapatra, coordinator, CSE told FE.
The study indicated that payment of wages to workers has been less than the minimum wage of the respective states. ?Beside Tamil Nadu, workers have been paid less than stipulated minimum as stipulated under NREGA,? the study pointed out. ?Due to erratic wage rate based on an archaic public works department formula, panchayats are increasingly demanding road and other construction works as they fetch the workers minimum wage, and some times more,? Mahapatra said.
Quoting the data from the ministry of rural development, the study said during 2006-07, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Bihar had more road connectivity activities than water conservation. Andhra Pradesh alone accounted for 66% of the total water conservation works under the NREGA. ?The trend continues in the current fiscal with slight improvement as Andhra Pradesh accounts for around 44% of water conservation works while Andhra Pradesh along with Madhya Pradesh and Orissa account for 60% of the total water conservation works,? Mahapatra said.
That apart, the study also revealed that only Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have managed to generate more than 50 average person days of employment until September 2007. The NREGA was initially launched in February 2, 2006 across 200 poor districts. In the last two years, the government has spent more than Rs 17,000 crore towards the programme. According to government data released last week more, than 2.5 crore rural households have got employment under the programme in the current fiscal. About 85 crore person days have been generated under it.