Rural job guarantee scheme an eyewash?

• The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme is neither national, nor does it guarantee anything: that, in sum, is the finding of a study conducted after the scheme, put in place by the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act of 2005, has completed a little over a year in operation.
• The scheme, with a budgetary allocation of Rs 11,300 crore (Rs 113 billion)?in its first year, was made effective February 2, 2006, across 200 districts in 14 states across India. In the current financial year, the scheme has been expanded to 330 districts, and the budgetary provision enhanced to Rs 12,000 crore (Rs 120 billion).
• In essence, the scheme seeks to guarantee a minimum of 100 days of employment to at least one member of each family, in each of the selected districts.
• The survey, conducted in 21 sample districts across 14 states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal), examined the period April 1, 2006- March 31, 2007.
• Ignorance of the nature of the scheme is another factor hampering effective implementation. The survey found that in the 530 surveyed villages, only 45 per cent of registered households had asked for jobs, and only 27 per cent of these had been given official receipts indicating that the administration is aware of the requirement.
• In sum, the situation is thus: firstly, the registration process is difficult; secondly, even when you do register, less than half the number get employment; even when you get employment, less than half the beneficiaries find work in the prescribed time frame; among those who do get work, the pay is less than the prescribed minimum and this pay is often delayed; among those who have registered but not found employment, the unemployment allowance that was promised has not been given.
• This situation has created a knock-on effect, with the intended beneficiaries losing enthusiasm for and interest in the scheme; where the relieving of rural stress was the stated objective, disillusionment has been added to distress - all this at the expense of over Rs 11,000 crore. Rediff Business Desk, 21 September 2007