In a move that might give a fillip to meeting the targets of Bharat Nirman components like rural telephony and irrigation projects, the Planning Commission has mooted the idea of using private land, such as those owned by small and marginal farmers, including the land of SC/ST farmers, to create rural infrastructure assets while generating more jobs under the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREG) scheme.

The proposal has, however, evoked a mixed response as it might result in acquisition of the land which is against the NREG Act, 2005 and might end up creating private assets for the land owners. According to the Act, ?NREGA resources should not be used for land acquisition. Land belonging to small and marginal farmers or SC/ST landowners cannot be acquired or donated for works under the programme.?

Senior government officials said the Commission?s plan would have to have enough safeguards to ensure that the private land does not end up being acquired by the state or any other agency or the ?high and mighty? under the garb of being used for social sector schemes like NREG and other Bharat Nirman programmes.

So far, the idea behind the NREG scheme has been to generate 100 days? employment and create public assets such as water conservation and water harvesting, drought proofing, including afforestation and tree plantation and irrigation canals, including micro and minor irrigation works that are durable. But in case the rural development ministry, the nodal ministry for implementing the NREG, accepts this proposal, it might lead to the creation of private assets, said a senior official dealing with the idea.

According to a comparative, study carried out by the Commission, between the NREGA and the Swampoorn Grameen Rozgar Yojana (SGRY) and the National Food for Work Programme (NFFWP), the NREG had provided more employment than the SGRY and NFFWP put together. In 2005-06, the fourth year of SGRY and NFFWP, the employment generated was for 1,116 million while the NREGA created 905 million jobs in the very first year of its launch in 2006-07.

Some of the better performing states under NREGA have been Madhya Pradesh (MP), Assam, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (UP),

West Bengal, Orissa, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been under-performers.

The study also found that there has been a marked increase in the wages in areas where the NREG has been implemented and has also resulted in a decline in migration of the labour force. The gender divide regarding payment of wages has also been addressed with women drawing the same wages as their male counterparts.

Seeking more transparency in the wage payment system, the presentation prepared by a senior Planning Commission official, in charge of rural development, has suggested separating the payment agency from the implementing agency. The Commission has also sought an increase in the total administrative costs from 4% to 6% to cover all administrative and technical support expenses at the local level. Social audits must be owned and performed by the gram panchayats with assistance from non-government organisations, the panel has mooted.

During 2004-05, the average daily wage in rural areas was Rs 30.23 and Rs 15.52 for men and women respectively in Assam. The wage rate more than doubled for both the genders to Rs 66 in areas where the NREG programme was implemented. The all India wage rate increased to Rs 78.12 under NREG from Rs 61.23 for men and Rs 44.59 for women during the fiscal.

Implementation of the NREG has improved with the passage of time. In 2006-07 only 0.5 million households completed 100 days employment. This went up to 3.57 million in 2007-08. Interestingly, the poor states of Bihar, Chattisgarh, Orissa, MP, Rajasthan and UP have the highest number of households completing 100 days employment.