MGNREGS UPDATE - Foundation for Ecological Securityfes.org.in/mgnrega-update-april-1st-2015.pdf• Now, Aadhaar card must for MGNREGA applicants • NREGS' essence is its problem now

Initiative towards Energizing MGNREGA. ……………

MGNREGS UPDATE News for Internal Circulation No. 16 / April 1, 2015 –April 15, 2015 Foundation for Ecological Security

Rain-hit areas to get NREGS boost

3 April, 2015 9:01 PM

NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya says

farmers can’t be fully compensated for crop damage.

The Union government will increase the number of

work days under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme from 100 to 150 in

places where the recent unseasonal rain and hailstorms

have affected crops. The relief package will include

cash compensation.

In addition, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought

recommendations from NITI Aayog on how insurance

can be used to protect farmers from losses arising out

of crop damage, Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of

the organisation, said.

“The Finance Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry

are readying a relief package that will include cash

compensation for damaged crops to farmers hit by the

unseasonal rain and hailstorms,” Dr. Panagariya told

The Hindu. “It will not be possible for the Finance

Ministry to provide funds to fully compensate farmers,

but some cash relief will be provided.”

Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has proposed

enhanced wheat allocations to the affected families

under the public distribution system. An inter-

ministerial group, headed by Union Home Minister

Rajnath Singh, deliberating upon relief for farmers has,

however, rejected the proposal. Agriculture Minister

Radha Mohan Singh and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley

are the members of the group.

A source in the inter-ministerial group said the cash

compensation would be paid out from the State

Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster

Relief Fund (NDRF). “Both also allow for food

compensation in case of crop damage … That option is

Inside

News

• More evidence: NREGA generated jobs for poor SCs & STs

• Speed up MGNREGA works: PR Commissioner • Now, Aadhaar card must for MGNREGA

applicants • NREGS' essence is its problem now • MNREGA wages hiked by Rs. 13 a day • NREGA and after: Large-scale migration of

rural masses is back in Chhattisgarh • NREGA: Each household got only 39 job days

last year • Rs 2 to Rs 17: Rise in NREGS wages is no hike

at all • Heat hits MNREGS workers in North Coastal

Andhra

Government Order

• MGNREGA – delays in payment of wages – certain initiatives proposed.

• Clarification regarding – Implementation of capturing the Aadhaar / EID number at the time of demand registration in DBT notified districts.

• Guidelines for securing full employment status to MGNREGA workers through Project for Livelihoods in Full Employment (Project LIFE-MGNREGA).

• National Resource Group for MGNREGA (NRGM) in Centre for Wage Employment and Poverty Alleviation (CWEPA) of NIRD-PR.


also available,” the source said. The Centre allocates

more funds to the States in case the expenditure is

more than the money available in the SDRF.

https://in.newshub.org/rain-hit-areas-get-nregs-boost-

14849685.html

More evidence: NREGA generated jobs for poor

SCs & STs

Amidst brouhaha over the importance of MGNREGA,

the recently released 68th Round National Sample

Survey (NSS) report clears the air whether the

MGNREGA had been beneficial to employment of

persons from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled

Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs).

Based on a survey of nearly 59,700 households in rural

areas of India, the NSS 68th Round data shows that the

proportion of persons who got job in MGNREGA

work was the highest among SCs (55.6%), followed by

STs (50.5%), OBCs (49.1%) and was the lowest

among 'others' category (45.5%). At the national level,

this proportion (for all castes taken together) was

50.5%.

The 68th Round of NSS, which was conducted during

July 2011 to June 2012 indicates that the proportion of

persons (18 years & above and registered in the

scheme) who sought but did not get work in

MGNREG work was the highest for 'others' category

of persons (21.9%) and it was the lowest among OBCs

(16.5%). At the all India level, this proportion (for all

castes taken together) was 18.8%.

The proportion of females who sought but did not get

work in MGNREGA was 16.8% whereas for males the

same was 20.2%.

Among the STs, the proportion of males getting

MGNREGA work was 51.8% whereas the same for

females was 48.9%. Among the SCs, the proportion of

males getting MGNREGA work was 55.1% whereas

the same for females was 56.3%.

The proportion of ST households having MGNREGA

job card was 7.3% in Bihar, 73.6% in Chhattisgarh,

38.1% in Jharkhand, 76.9% in Madhya Pradesh, 55.1%

in Odisha, 82.3% in Rajasthan and 31.3% in Uttar

Pradesh.

The proportion of SC households having MGNREGA

job card was 35.8% in Bihar, 75.6% in Chhattisgarh,

44% in Jharkhand, 73% in Madhya Pradesh, 48.1% in

Odisha, 80.6% in Rajasthan and 43.4% in Uttar

Pradesh.

The proportion of ST persons (18 years & above and

registered in the scheme) who sought but did not get

employment in MGNREGA was 37.5% in Bihar, 8.9%

in Chhattisgarh, 16.4% in Jharkhand, 13.2% in

Madhya Pradesh, 23.7% in Odisha, 22.1% in

Rajasthan and 19.8% in Uttar Pradesh.

The proportion of SC persons (18 years & above and

registered in the scheme) who sought but did not get

employment in MGNREGA was 33.8% in Bihar,

13.4% in Chhattisgarh, 37.8% in Jharkhand, 21.3% in

Madhya Pradesh, 25.6% in Odisha, 22.8% in

Rajasthan and 15.2% in Uttar Pradesh.

It is worth noting that at the national level, the


proportion of unemployed (i.e. number of persons

unemployed per 100 persons) as per usual status (usual

principal status+subsidiary status) among rural male

was nearly 0.7% for ST, while for each of SC, OBC

and others category, it was nearly 1% and for females,

proportion of unemployed was observed to vary

between 0.4% to 0.5% for various social groups. The

unemployment rate (i.e. number of persons

unemployed per 100 persons in the labour force)

among rural male was 2% for SC, 1.7% for OBC,

1.8% for 'others' and among ST it was 1.3%. Among

females, unemployment rate was 2.4% among others

category, 1.7% among OBC, 1.4% among SC and

1.1% among ST.

The key findings of the NSS report no. 563:

Employment and Unemployment Situation among

Social Groups in India (released in January 2015)

pertaining to the participation of rural households in

MGNREGA works are as follows

(i) Households with MGNREG job cards and

registration of persons in MGNREG job cards

* About 38.4% of the households in rural areas had

MGNREGA job cards.

* A higher proportion of households belonging to ST

or SC category had MGNREGA job cards than OBC

or others category of households: 57.2% of ST

households and 50% of SC households had MGNREG

job cards as compared to 34.2% of OBC households

and 27.1% of others category of households.

* About 23.7% of the rural persons of age 18 years and

above were registered in MGNREG job card.

* Among persons of age 18 years and above, a higher

proportion of males compared to females were

registered in MGNREGA job card: nearly 28.1% of

males compared to 19.4% of females were registered

in MGNREGA job card.

* The proportion of persons of age 18 years and above

registered in MGNREGA job cards was the highest,

nearly 42.6% for persons belonging to ST households,

followed by 30.9% for SC, 21% for OBC and the

lowest 14.7% for persons in others category of

households.

(ii) Status of getting work in MGNREG work among

persons of age 18 years and above registered in

MGNREG job cards

* Among rural persons of age 18 years and above

registered in MGNREG job cards, 50.5% got work in

MGNREGA work, 18.8% sought but did not get

MGNREG works and 30.5% did not seek work in

MGNERG work.

* Proportion of persons who got work in MGNREGA

work was the highest among SC (55.6%), followed by

ST (50.5%), OBC (49.1%) and was the lowest among

others category (45.5%).

* The proportion of persons who sought but did not get

work in MGNREGA work was the highest for others

category of persons (21.9%) and it was the lowest

among OBC (16.5%).

* The proportion of persons who did not seek

work in MGNERG work was the highest among

OBC (nearly 34.2%) and was the lowest among SC

(24%), while it was 30.4% among ST and 32.5%

among others category.

http://www.im4change.org/news-alerts/more-evidence-nrega-

generated-jobs-for-poor-scs-sts-4675835.html


Speed up MGNREGA works: PR Commissioner

Panchayat Raj Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu

addressing officials at Chittoor on Saturday. Chittoor

DWMA Project Director S. Rajasekhar Naidu (left)

and ZP CEO Venugopal Reddy are seen. —Photo: K.

Umashanker

State Panchayat Raj and Rural Development

Commissioner B. Ramanjaneyulu on Saturday

expressed anguish at the irregularities in implementing

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA) in the State, and

warned the officials at the three-tiers — village,

mandal and district — to keep pace with targets set for

the year 2015-16.

Addressing officials of his department at ZP Meeting

Hall here, Mr. Ramanjaneyulu observed that the

general fallacy on NREGA is that it was being viewed

as ‘something to do with menial jobs meant for the

poorest of the poor.’ He sought the officials at the field

level to dispel this notion among the general public

and make their participation a meaningful exercise for

strengthening the rural infrastructure and economy as

well.

“There is nothing wrong or shameful in taking the

utensils meant for de-silting tanks. All those who have

no work or are lazy should think of making themselves

partners in this scheme for a better future of the State,”

the official said. He warned the officials that from the

year 2015-16, the wages for the field staff would be

based on their performance.

Of 1.15 crore job cards issued in the State, only 42

lakh persons are coming for works, and not even 50%

among them are really showing seriousness in

attending to works

B. Ramanjaneyulu, Panchayat Raj and Rural

Development Commissioner

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/speed-up-

mgnrega-works-pr-commissioner-tells-officials/article7069405.ece

Now, Aadhaar card must for MGNREGA

applicants

Bagish Jha, TNN | Apr 12, 2015, 08.01PM IST

INDORE: After LPG subsidy, Union government has

made Aadhaar card mandatory for job applicants under

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The move, however, is

being criticized by activists.

"MGNREGA Management Information System (MIS)

is refusing to accept work demand or generate musters

for workers unless Aadhaar number is mentioned,"

said Madhuri from Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan.

Terming it latest effort of government to derail

MGNREGA, Madhuri said this is contempt of SC

order, according to which Aadhaar card is not

mandatory. "Probationary officers (block CEOs),

panchayat secretaries and rozgar sahayaks have been

asking beneficiaries for Aadhaar card, without which,

they will not be given work."

Harsingh Jamra, a tribal from Barwani, said many still

do not have Aadhar card. There are hundreds of


families in rural areas, which are depending on

MGNREGA for their livelihood. "Instead of

simplifying the process, government is making it more

complicated for beneficiaries," he said.

Madhuri alleged that since September 2014, no new

work under the job scheme has started. "State

government has given instructions to district collector

not to start new work," alleged Madhuri, adding that

Barwani collector has been writing to commissioner

MGNREGA, requesting permission to start new work.

District administration has been instructed to send

workers to sites, where work is underway.

About 1,500 workers from Barwani, have filed for

unemployment allowance and more are expected to

follow in coming days. "We have written a letter to

state government highlighting difficulties of farmers

and we will also organize a rally against the

government order," added Madhuri.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/indore/Now-Aadhaar-card-

must-for-MGNREGA-applicants/articleshow/46898221.cms

NREGS' essence is its problem now

TNN | Apr 3, 2015, 06.37AM IST

NEW DELHI: Guarantee' and 'employment' - the very

two words that brought sheen to NREGS for many

years - have become the biggest challenge to one of

the most ambitious pro-poor schemes in the world,

making it jaded, unreliable and almost futile in many

places.

Even as UPA's pet scheme enters the 10th year, and

with finance minister Arun Jaitley making it clear in

the Budget that the NDA regime will nurse the

scheme, ground reports from across the country show

NREGS is facing a plethora of problems. Primary

among these is a sharp cut in central funds to most

states, which in turn has led to a steep fall in the

number of projects, migration of workers due to

pending wage bills and families being deprived of the

mandatory 100 mandays every year.

The central fund allocation is slashed by up to 45% in

some states. Some states are yet to receive the final

instalment of this truncated allocation, forcing them to

hold back wage bills. West Bengal panchayat minister

Subrata Mukherjee said he has been repeatedly urging

the Centre to clear Rs 1,000-crore NREGS dues to his

state. "This is plaguing the work already undertaken,"

he said.

Nepal Singha, sabhapati of Salboni panchayat samiti in

Bengal's West Midnapore, said that 10 gram

panchayats under his samiti owed Rs 2.46 crore to

15,000 workers. "The delay in payment is triggering

dissent among workers. They are refusing to take up

fresh projects unless their dues are cleared. This has

severely affected works like building roads, ponds and

dams and making arid land cultivable," he said. Singha

is not alone. Hundreds of samitis across the country

face the same problem.

Late payments and slashed budget have derailed many

projects in Tamil Nadu, which has been rated as the

best performing state. "Villagers are not ready to work

because of delayed wages. If the delay continues, there

will be a problem getting workers under NREGS," said

an official, adding there was a shortfall of Rs 1,700

crore in the last quarter of 2014-15.

Sources in the Karnataka government pointed out that

the peak working season for NREGS schemes starts

from NovemberDecember. "Lack of funds will have a

debilitating impact on these schemes as we can't keep

up the momentum and meet the needs of the wage


seekers," the sources said, adding the Centre was yet to

clear Rs 141.5 crore wage bills.

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi also echoed the views that the

cut in funds came at a time when NREGS were

making substantial progress.

The diminishing central funds have disappointed BJP-

ruled states like Maharashtra as well.The state had

raised a demand of Rs 1,551 crore for this financial

year. "We were expecting Rs 1,100 crore but got Rs

800 crore," said Maharashtra NREGS commissioner

Muthukrishnan Sankarnarayan, adding that the state

government would raise the remaining Rs 300 crore. R

Ramakumar, an economist with Tata Institute of Social

Sciences, Mumbai, said this was bad news for the

"drought-prone state where such employment schemes

are paramount for sustaining the livelihoods of rural

households".He added that Maharashtra was among

the worst states in implementing NREGS. Only 4% of

the households in the state have received employment

under NREGS, against 25% in India and 62% in

Rajasthan, said Ramakumar.

But Rajasthan, a 'poster boy for NREGS', is also

slipping. The labour budget in 2014-15 has come down

to Rs 2071 crores from Rs 2334 crores in 2013-14.

This has reduced the mandays to 1,471 lakhs from

1,878 lakhs in 2013-14.

Till last year, the 100 mandayquota of each family

used to be exhausted by February in most parts of the

state. In 2014-15, some families did not even log 40

mandays. "I am from a community that used to beg for

food, till NREGS changed my life. But there's no work

available this time. We can't sit at home. I would be

forced to go back to begging if this continues," said

Ganga Devi from a village in Ajmer district.

NREGS's past success in states like Rajasthan and TN

can be gauged by assets created at the village level.For

instance, people of Arjungarh village in Rajasthan's

Rajsamand district swear by the check dam built under

NREGS in the initial years. "The dam raised the water

level of our wells. Earlier, our wells would go dry by

now. But despite poor rains in 2014, the wells still

have water," says Sevaram.

But politically, the importance of NREGS has come

down with a change of governments at both state and

central level. A few months ago, CM Vasundhara Raje

sug g ested that NREGS be changed from an Act to a

scheme, evoking protests. "People have mobilized in

large numbers against the CM's suggestion," said

Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) leader

Nikhil Dey.

Strang ely, in BJP-ruled Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,

state officials blamed polls for poor implementation of

NREGS projects in last one year.

Chhattisgarh, ironically, had a problem of plenty

before the polls.Sources said that as the state headed

for the November 2013 polls, its rural development

department sanctioned and executed massive NREGS

works to benefit the rural masses. Labour and material

payments were kept pending, in anticipation that funds

would be allocated in the 2014-15 fiscal, and the

works were implemented in all the 27 districts without


proper monitoring, the sources said. With BJP

retaining power, this trend continued till the LS polls.

But with NDA government slashing funds after

coming to power at the Centre, NREGS works have

almost come to a grinding halt across the state. A top

rural development department official admitted that

large-scale irregularities were recently unearthed and

cases registered against officials. In many states, the

number of works sanctioned under the scheme have

gone down, as have the beneficiaries. MP has seen a

sharp decline from 4,74,608 works in 2013-14 to

1,76,610 this fiscal. The reach of the scheme has been

reduced to 50% in states like Bihar.

(With inputs from Saibal Sen in Kolkata, Vithika

Salomi in Patna, Prabin Kalita in Guwahati, Priyanka

Kakodkar in Mumbai, Naheed Ataulla in Bangalore,

Deshdeep Saxena in Bhopal, Jaideep Deogharia in

Ranchi, Joseph John in Raipur, Anindo Dey in Jaipur,

Ramu Bhagwat in Nagpur and B Sivakumnar in

Chennai)

http://in.b2.mk/news/?newsid=NYv

MNREGA wages hiked by Rs. 13 a day

Attend Labour Law 2015 - Labour & Social Security

talks Register for ISLSSL Congress

Nagesh Prabhu

There’s some good news for beneficiaries of the

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act (MNREGA), as the wage rate per day

has been revised with effect from April 1.

Daily wages have gone up from Rs. 191 in 2014–15 to

Rs. 204 in 2015–16, an increase by Rs. 13 a day.

However, the expenditure incurred per person per day

is Rs. 360.4, which includes equipment cost (Rs. 136)

and administration cost (Rs. 20.4).

With this, the wage rates have been revised nine times

since the launch of the job scheme in 2006–07 by the

previous UPA government. The revision in the wage

rate indexed to the Consumer Price Index for

Agricultural Labour. The State government spent just

51 per cent of the allocated funds during 2014–15 [Rs.

1,683.65 crore as against Rs. 3,151.76 crore]. The

State is expected to get Rs. 2,587.35 crore during

2015–16 for taking up various works under the

scheme. In the current fiscal year, the State will spend

more than 60 per cent of the allocated amount in the

most backward 69 taluks. More funds will be spent on

labour budget in these taluks. The labour budget has

been depressed due to poor capacity. It was proposed

to generate 4.56 crore man-days work in the most

backward taluks and 2.61 crore man-days work in rest

of the taluks in the State in the current financial year.

The Centre has directed the State to identify gram

panchayats for the ‘open defecation free’ campaign

under the scheme as a part of the Swachh Bharat

Abhiyan. The planning and identification of works

should be started before August to ensure completion

by March 2016. The Centre said in 11 districts, the

expenditure on agriculture-related works is below the

statutory limit and efforts should be made to spend

more money on farm works.


http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/mgnrega-wages-

hiked-by-rs-13-a-day/article7083051.ece

NREGA and after: Large-scale migration of rural

masses is back in Chhattisgarh

by Parivesh Mishra Apr 2, 2015 15:06 IST

Raipur - After a lull of nearly seven years, large-scale

migration of rural masses in search of livelihood is

back in news in Chhattisgarh again.

While the state government has informed the assembly

that nearly one lakh people have left their homes and

migrated in search of job in the state in the last three

years, conservative non-official estimates put the

figure at more than 20 lakhs.

The period of lull coincides with the period the

previous UPA government pushed its rural safety net

programme, MNREGA, with much enthusiasm; the

change has come with the Raman Singh government

going slow on it in the state after the Centre reduced

allocation to the state government. The rural economy,

which witnessed a period of calm - some would call it

artificial calm - is back in the turbulent mode.

Reuters

“The ground situation is far more worrisome than the

figures of the migration suggest,” says T Singh Deo,

the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.

“People migrate either in search of better wage or

when there is no wage. This year the change in the

central government's policy drastically cut down the

income of the farmers by first refusing to buy paddy

and then by withholding distribution of the promised

bonus. The spending power of the farmers shrunk. To

add to the misery of the rural people, the state

government faltered on starting the employment

generating programmes under MGNREGA.

Combined, these two factors have rendered a

devastating blow to the rural economy leaving lakhs of

landless as well as the small and marginal farmers with

no option but to migrate in search of jobs and wages,”

believes Singh Deo.

The government bases its figures essentially on the

number of permits for migration it issues under the

interstate migrant workmen act. 1979. The bulk of the

migration takes place without the official license.

Besides, it overlooks the migration within the state

or even districts. Even these figures tell a story.

According to the official figures of the state, in

Bilaspur district 17796 people migrated in 2006 – the

year MGNREGA was introduced. The figure kept

coming down steadily and in 2010, it was only 1,223.

No figures are available for the later years.

Chhattisgarh was first recognised nationally as a

supplier of cheap labour towards the end of the 19th

century when, immediately after the completion of the

Eastern segment of the Howrah-Bombay rail link,

thousands of labour from the famine struck plains were

carted to the tea gardens of Assam.


The trend became a habit and then a forced way of life

in over hundred years thereafter, until MGNREGA -

the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment

Guarantee Act - which the World Bank termed a

"stellar example of rural development" in its World

Development Report 2014 - arrived in the middle of

the last decade. It was the first constitutionally

supported measure to help the land-less poor and small

farmers to get work in their village at reasonable

wages.

The scheme brought migration down drastically. More

importantly it provided an upward pressure on the

baseline wages and thereby gave a boost to the

bargaining capacity of the poor. With the drastic shift

of the rural labour from the agricultural to the

MGNREGA-backed infrastructure and other non-farm

sector, the land holding class in the villages panicked

in its reactions in the initial years.

The policies of the state government, preparing to go

to the assembly elections first in 2008 and then in

2013, helped in no small measure in bringing the rural

economy to its present status.

Keen to please both the segments of the rural society at

the same time, it first distributed ration cards to all and

sundry and made them eligible to buy rice at virtually

no price. This decreased their appetite for work. The

absence of hands from the field brought the wages at

par with the MGNREGA.

The farmers or the land holders were pampered with

the ‘unlimited’ amount of paddy that they were

allowed to sell to the government at the minimum

support price. This turned tractor owner farmers into

smugglers of paddy that was available in the

neighbouring states at a cheaper price and to sell it to

the government and lay claims on the bonus.

Flush with surplus money, the landowners lost no time

in going shopping for the farm equipment like,

tractors, trolleys, harvesters and thrashers.

The vacuum created by the departure of the manual

help in the agriculture sector was filled up by the

machines, plugging to a large extent the window of

opportunity for the rural labour to return to the farms.

With the change of the government in Delhi after the

2014 Lok Sabha elections, the scenario took another

‘U’ turn. The rural economy turned upside down yet

again, this time for the worse. The uglier contours of

the changed face are coming to the fore now.

First, the Centre tightened its purse strings and the

state government, in spite of a much-trumpeted

promise in its election manifesto to the contrary,

refused to buy paddy from the farmers beyond a rather

token quantity. The list of eligible farmers to sell

paddy was drastically pruned. No bonus was given.

This gave a deadly blow to the income and purchasing

power of the farmer. Neeraj Patel of Botalda near

Raigarh is the leading dealer of established brands of

farm equipment in Chhattisgarh. He says after the

graph of sale going up and up in the past couple of

years, it has nose-dived this year. The worse is, he

continues, that the farmers are not in a position to

repay the loans on the equipments bought earlier.

The labours and the marginal and small farmers were

hit harder.

The Modi government immediately after taking over

betrayed intentions of giving a re-look to the

MGNREGA programmes. The speculated changes

were drastic pruning of the area of coverage; cutting

down the wage component of the programme;

curtailing the central government’s share of funds etc.


Whatever the stated intentions of the government

were, the indifference had a crippling effect on the

state’s rural economy as it spread uncertainty about the

scheme.

The road map of the work that the government plans to

take up in the non-farming months under the scheme

used to go public towards the end of the kharif season.

It didn’t happen this year. The labour after a wait of

few work-less weeks was forced to look for other

avenues. The option of going back to the agriculture

sector had almost lapsed with the arrival of the

machines and the diminished spending power of the

farmers. The fact that in many areas of the state, the

dues of the last years’ work were not cleared, added to

the urgency to look for options.

The migration was triggered as a natural corollary.

According to the government's admission in the

assembly, the migration has taken place from virtually

every part of the state. The maximum number of

people migrated from the Champa-Janjgir district.

The state government has inked MoU with 34

companies with plans to set up as many power plants

in this district alone. The proposed power plants with a

total capacity of about 34,000 MW will require about

40,000 acre of land, most of which was irrigated

agricultural fields till the acquisitions started.

“A total of around 10,000 acres is the requirement of

the industry in one Dabhra block alone of this district,”

says Murlidhar Chandram of ‘Srijan Kendra’ a Dabhra

based NGO active in the agricultural sector. In

Chhattisgarh, 82.56 percent population lives in 20,376

villages. About 80 percent population of the state has

traditionally depended on agro economy. The Champa-

Janjgir district is no exception. The state has entered

what portends to be the worst slow down in the recent

years.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/nrega-and-after-large-scale-

migration-of-rural-masses-is-back-in-chhattisgarh-2183681.html

NREGA: Each household got only 39 job days

last year

It was the NDA government which implemented

MGNREGA unlike in the previous years when it was

monitored by Congress-led governments.

Written by Ruhi Tewari | New Delhi | Published

on:April 6, 2015 12:57 am

The gaps in the implementation of Mahatma Gandhi

National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

(MGNREGA) continue to widen despite the scheme

being in its tenth year. The last year (2014-15) has

turned out to be worst year of the scheme since its

inception in terms of the average number of days of

employment provided to each household.

The MGNREGA, introduced in February 2006 by the

UPA government, promises 100 days of employment

every year to each rural household. However, last year,

it was the NDA government which implemented the

scheme unlike in the previous years when it was

monitored by Congress-led governments.

As per the data available with the Ministry of Rural

Development, which implements the scheme, the


average days of employment provided per household

in 2014-15 were only 39.2, significantly lower than in

2013-14 when the figure was 46. Last year was the

scheme’s worst performance on this count in the past

nine years since it was introduced. The average days of

employment provided per household has, although

always low, remained above the 40-mark. The figure

was 43, 42, 48, 54, 47, 43, 46 in 2006-07, 2007-08,

2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13

respectively.

While ministry officials claim that the data usually

come in with a lag and the figure for last year could

subsequently improve, they also say the scheme’s poor

performance in 2014-15 was largely a supply side

problem. Fund constraints and delayed release of funds

to states meant no proper planning could be done at the

local level, leading to a paucity of work.

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/nrega-each-

household-got-only-39-job-days-last-year/

Rs 2 to Rs 17: Rise in NREGS wages is no hike at

all

Subodh Ghildiyal, TNN | Apr 7, 2015, 02.13AM IST

Discharging its annual duty, the Centre has revised the

wages under the job guarantee scheme that range from

a minimum of Rs two to a maximum of Rs 17 for a

day’s labour.

NEW DELHI: It is a wage hike that is no-hike at all.

Discharging its annual duty, the Centre has revised the

wages under the job guarantee scheme that range from

a minimum of Rs two to a maximum of Rs 17 for a

day's labour. In percentage terms, the hike ranges

between 2%-10%.

Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh stand at the bottom

of the ladder with the hike under MGNREGA being a

meagre Rs 2, increased from Rs 157 in 2014 to Rs 159

in 2015. Election-bound Bihar and Jharkhand have

been given a hike of Rs four, from Rs 158 to 162.

In contrast, Kerala is on top with a wage increase of Rs

17, followed by Tamil Nadu of Rs 16 and Haryana is

Rs 15.

The revision remains gloomy across the states. Assam

has registered a hike of Rs 12, Andhra and Gujarat Rs

11, while Odisha, Rajasthan and Punjab have a jump

of Rs 10 over the last year's figure.

If the increase in wages appears ludicrous, experts say

the blame rests not on government but on the

"Consumer Price Index (CPI)-agriculture labour" with

which the MGNREGA wages are linked to. The

Centre, through the rural development ministry, is

bound to order a revision based on increase in farm

labour in a particular state during the year.

The job scheme promises 100 days' employment to

each interested rural household, with the work mostly

consisting of hard labour.

The wage revision this year does not even appear to

cover the increase in price of vegetables like onion or

commodities of daily use. Many fault the methodology

for effecting the hike. Experts say there could be more

than CPI-AL to hitch the job wages to.

The controversy is not new. Sources said the issue had

erupted three years ago when the gain made by some

backward states was as low as Re one. While the states

had complained, they could not carp about much

because CPI-agriculture labour is worked out by states,

though for labour bureau under the Central

government.


As per the wage revision, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand

and West Bengal have registered an increase of Rs 5,

Tripura of Rs 12, Maharashtra Rs 13, Karnataka Rs 13.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Rs-2-to-Rs-17-Rise-in-

NREGS-wages-is-no-hike-at-all/articleshow/46830788.cms

Heat hits MNREGS workers in North Coastal

Andhra

V Kamalakara Rao, TNN | Apr 7, 2015, 10.10AM IST

Three MNREGS workers have already died so far,

while more than 200 workers have fallen sick this

summer since March 1.

VISAKHAPATNAM: This summer is proving to be

crueler than usual for the beneficiaries of the Mahatma

Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Scheme (MGNREGS) in the three north coastal

districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and

Visakhapatnam, especially since the region has been

stripped of its green cover by Cyclone Hudhud.

Three MNREGS workers have already died so far,

while more than 200 workers have fallen sick this

summer since March 1. While 40-year-old Suvada

Paparao of Pandalapaka village of Anandapuram

mandal in Visakhapatnam district died few days ago,

the two other deaths were reported from Vizianagaram

district. Most of the sick workers were women and the

old.

Meteorologists have already predicted a rise in

temperature levels in the district. N Narasimha Rao,

assistant meteorologist, India Meteorological

Department (IMD), Hyderabad Centre, said,

"Temperatures will constantly rise from April. If the

northwesterly winds blow, severe heat conditions will

prevail. However, over the past one week, southerly

winds were blowing in the north coastal belt

preventing the mercury from climbing, but this spell

will not last long."

Keeping in view the deaths and rising number of sick

cases amid predictions of a scorching summer ahead

due to the loss of green cover in the wake of Cyclone

Hudhud, which hit Vizag on October 12, the District

Water Management Agency (DWMA), which takes

care of NREGS, has rescheduled the work timings

from 7 am to 11 am this summer instead of 8 am to 12

noon last year. Nearly 1 lakh tents have been erected at

the worksites in 115 mandals of the north coastal

region and officials have appealed to senior

beneficiaries, particularly those over 70 years, not to

work in the summer.

R Sriramulu Naidu, project director, DWMA,

Visakhapatnam, said nearly 2 lakh people were

currently attending to work this summer, out of the

total 6 lakh job card holders in the district. "A worker

died recently on the site due to the heat stroke, which

is why we have rescheduled the work timings this

year. As warmer weather conditions are prevailing due

to the cyclone effect, we have appealed to senior

beneficiaries not to come to work in the summer. We


will provide them opportunities in the monsoon

season," he explained.

Sriramulu Naidu said Rs 50,000 will be paid as

compensation to the kin of the deceased NREGS

worker and that they are discussing the possibility of

providing a special insurance coverage to all

MNREGS with the help of the department of labour.

P Prasanthi, project director, DWMA, Vizianagaram

district, said the state government has this time

announced a summer allowance of 25% for each

worker over and above the regular wages of Rs 169

per head in March and April, 30% summer allowance

in May and 20% in June. This apart, Rs 10 will be

given to each worker to purchase drinking water.

Commenting on the two deaths in Vizianagaram

district, she said that though deceased were NREGS

workers, they did not die at the worksite but while they

were on the way to the worksite.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/visakhapatnam/Heat-hits-

MNREGS-workers-in-North-Coastal-

Andhra/articleshow/46832848.cms


This information bulletin is a part of our initiative towards improving

water conservation through leveraging NREGA.

Supported by: Hindustan Unilever Foundation

Documents

MGNREGS UPDATE - Foundation for Ecological Securityfes.org.in/mgnrega-update-april-1st-2015.pdf• Now, Aadhaar card must for MGNREGA applicants • NREGS' essence is its problem now